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HISTORY OF THF 

General Slocum Disaster 

BY WHICH NEARLY 

1200 LIVES WERE LOST 



Y THE BaRNING OF THE STEAMER GENERAI 
'^ SLOCUM IN HELL GATE, NEW YORK 

HARBOR, JUNE 15, 1904. 



ILLUSTRATED, 



COMPILED AND EDITED BY Z', S^ D<GrILVIE. 



COFTEIGHT, 1904, BT 

J. S. OoiLviB Publishing Company. 



New York : 

J, S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY. 

57 Rose Steeet, 



F 






LIBRARY nf CONGRFSS 
Two Oootes Received 

JUN 29 1904 
\ nooyrlcrht entry 

CLASS <X XXo. No. 

5 'if S / (> 

COPY B 



PREFACE 

In presenting a brief history of one of the greatest ca- 
lamities of modern times, by which nearly twelve hundred 
persons were burned to death and drowned in New York 
Harbor, we have necessarily had to depend upon different 
writers and upon many sources of information for the facts 
contained in this book, but we have taken the greatest pos- 
sible care that all statements made are as nearly the actual 
truth as possible, and we give them to the public, believing, 
as we do, that many persons will be glad to have, as a mat- 
ter of reference, the facts condensed together in one volume. 

The Compiler. 



HISTORY 



OF THE 



GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER 



CHAPTER I. 

Nothing approaching the recent General Slocnm disas- 
ter has happened in New York waters before. The exact 
number of the women and children who were burned to 
death and drowned by the burning of the pleasure steamer 
General Slocum will not be far from twelve hundred. 

Nearly all of those who were burned and drowned were 
women and little children, members of the Sunday School 
of St. Mark's Lutheran Church, in Sixth street, who were 
on their annual excursion. 

Between 1,400 and 1,500 people, so far as can be learned, 
started out on the Slocum. Nearly a third of them were 
babies. Try as best they could, the police and hospital au- 
thorities and the officers of the church could not find 
more than 300 or 400 survivors. But everybody believed 
that, when matters were straightened out, and all the 
hospitals began to give an accounting of the wounded they 
had taken in spontaneously, the list of those members of 
the excursion still living would be most happily lengthened. 
Many of the excursionists were children not attached to the 
church. 

5 



6 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTEE. 

HOW COULD IT HAPPEN? 

'^ow did such a thing happen?'^ That was the qnes- 
tion which was reiterated up and down the length and 
breadth of the city. People read of the captain who foniid 
at 110th street that his boat, with its precious cargo, was on 
lire and yet did not drive it to the shore until he was 
beyond 138th street, a mile and a half from the place where 
the cry of "Fire!" first reached his ears. 

Captain William H. Van Schaick of the Slocum ex- 
plained, as best he could, how such horrible disaster had 
come to a company under his care and direction. He is a 
man 61 years old, and has had long experience in com- 
manding pleasure craft in the waters around New York. 
Captain Van Schaick said that though he heard the alarm 
of fire early, he made up his mind at once that there was 
no certain place where she could be beached in shallow 
water st)uth of North Brother Island. The tide was run- 
ning up to the Sound with terrific velocity, and he was 
sure that he would lose time trying to turn his boat into a 
proper beaching place south of North Brother Island. He 
stuck to his post, although the flames scorched his cloth- 
ing, until the boat was hard and fast ashore. Pilot Van 
Wart stayed with him. 

Eivermen generally were divided as to the good judg- 
ment shown by Capt. Van Schaick in trying to go so far. 
The captain him'self admitted that it was not until after 
the fire had been going some time that he realized its 
fierceness and its rapidity. Captain Van Schaick and 
pilots Van Wart and Weaver were arrested and were sent 
to the prison cells of Bellevue Hospital,, for all of them 
were badly burned. 

LAMP EOOM FED THE TIKE. 

There was a compartment in the hold of the General 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 7 

Slocum known as the second cabin. It was forward, just 
aft the forecastle. In this room were kept the lamps and 
the oil for them, the gasolene and the brass-polishing li- 
quids, and all the other inflammable supplies. It cannot 
be determined whether or not the fire started in this cabin. 
But it was known that the flames were fed there to reach 
their greatest and most murderous intensity. From that 
cabin the fire swept back through the boat with a fierceness 
that no fire-fighting apparatus could hold in check. 

THE PITY OF IT. 

There were scenes of horror on the General Slocum and 
on shore such as it would not be decent to set down on 
paper, even though any chronicler had the ability. It was 
a boatload of women and little children. For the last mile, 
when the steamer, spouting flames high into the air, was 
shooting swiftly out to the Sound with the tide, people on 
the shore and on other steamers could see the women and 
children fluttering over the sides into the water in scores. 
The river is swift there at flood tide. The waves grab for- 
ward at one another with hungry white fingers. A strong 
man would have but little chance. The women and the 
children had no chance. 

There have been heard such stories as often come out 
after a disaster — stories of cruel selfishness by members of 
the crew, of cold disregard of the Slocum's distress signals 
and most evident need by pleasure and business craft in 
the harbor. In tlie end came the story that there had been 
looting of the bodies of the dead. Some of these things 
were more or less true. 

HEROIC WORK OF RESCUERS. 

But there was a glorious record of self-sacrifice and ol 
bravery to be set over against all that was evil or unmanly. 



$ THE GENERAL SLOCUH DISASTER. 

Of such were the bravery with which the old captain and his 
pilots stayed at their posts ; the noble efforts of Policemen 
Kelk and Van Tassel, who were on the burning boat, to 
save the lives of those entrusted to their care ; the beautiful 
■■ recklessness of the women nurses and the convalescent pa- 
1 tients from the hospitals on North Brother Island, risking 
' their lives to dash into the water around the burning boat 
to pull out drowning children and women ; the brave deeds 
of the men on the city's boats, the Franklin Edson and the 
Massasoit, and on the tugs Theo and Wade. Some day 
someone will fittingly dress out the deeds of that little man, 
tCapt. Jack Wade, and his daredevil crew. For every one 
whose deeds were seen and mentally registered in the flying 
moments of horror and peril, there were hundreds of 
others in which the rescued were too much scared to ap- 
preciate what was being done for them, and the rescuers 
were too busy to take note for themselves. 

Ambulances and patrol wagons from nearly every corner 
of the city were sent to points along The Bronx shore near- 
est the wreck. Physicians and nurses came by hundreds, 
not only from hospitals, public and private, in all the bo- 
Toughs of the city, but singly, from their private offices, 
from as far away as Newark and Paterson. 

NORTH BROTHER ISLAND A MORGUE. 

Bodies were sent down to the Bellevue Morgue from 
North Brother Island as fast as they were recovered, until 
there was no more room there. Most of them were uniden- 
tified. At about 5 o'clock at night, when the tide was low, 
there was a sudden increase in the rapidity with which 
bodies were recovered. They were brought out of the water 
near where the Slocum had been grounded at the rate of 
about one a minute. A temporary morgue was established 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 9 

on the island. The systematizing of the work of identifi- 
cation was completed, and it is hoped that nearly all the 
recovered bodies may be recognized. Some of them were 
so badly burned that they will never be recognized. At 
night great silent crowds, thousands and thousands of peo- 
ple, stood in front of the church in Sixth street, in front 
of the morgue and the Alexander Avenue Police Station, 
and along the East River shore opposite North Brother 
Island — ^wherever the bodies of the victims were laid or 
where news of them could be learned. 

THE SLOCUM SAILS OUT GAILY. 

The General Slocum, v,dnch was built of wood, started 
around the Battery at about 7 o'clock on the morning of 
the fatal day. Her crew of twenty-seven was aboard. She 
reached the foot of Third street, in the East Eiver, where 
there is a recreation pier, at about twenty minutes past 
8 o'clock. 

There were several hundred excursionists already on the 
pier when the Slocuin arrived. There were mothers full 
of pride in their lusty German-American babies, and full 
of anxiety for fear some of them v\^ould fall overboard in 
their haste to get on board the Slocum before an3^body else 
did. A band came and went to the after deck and began 
booming out melodies dear to the German and the East 
Side heart. 

The mothers and children kept pouring across the gang 
plank and scurrying for "good places" about the decks. 
The Rev. G. C. F. Haas, and his assistant, the Rev. J. S. 
Schultz, stood on opposite sides of the gang plank and wel- 
comed the mothers and the scholars. Policeman Kelk and 
Van Tassel, full of experience in the handling of Sunday 
School excursions, took posts on the off-shore side of the 



?fO THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTEE. 

steamer, ready to dive after any towhead who by mischance 
should fall overboard. It was as fine a day for a picnic as 
ever was. The sunlight made the blue water seem as bright 
as though it lay anywhere but between the piers of the big- 
gest city of this nation. The ugly factory walls were set 
off by masts and flags, and big boats and little boats seemed 
rather to be skittering over the river for their own amuse- 
ment than for any purpose of sordid profit. 

IT WAS AN" IDEAL DAT. 

The excursion was late in starting. Lutherans are great 
folk for going to family picnics in big family parties. 
Greta and Wilhelmina and August's wife gather from the 
corners of Manhattan and Brooklyn and bring all their 
children, and combine their luncheons so that it shall be 
served to ten or fifteen hungry mouths in proper propor- 
tions. And if any one of the whole family circle was late, 
then all the rest went to Pastor Haas and besought him, 
by all that was dear and sweet, not to let the boat go until 
sister and her little ones came. Pastor Haas was good- 
natured, and it was well along toward 10 o'clock when the 
Slocum started, the band on the upper deck playing "Ein 
Feste Burg 1st Unser Gott." 

The children tugged at their skirts, held down by 
their smiling mothers and big sisters and grandmothers, 
and cheered at the departing pier. There was not a chill 
in the air. There was not a cloud on the blue sky. Pastor 
Haas went up and down the decks, and the matrons loudly 
communicated their congratulations to him. 

Hell Gate, where the tide was rushing out to the Sound 
with the utmost violence, was passed safely. There isn't 
a steamer captain in this harbor, no matter though he be 
as old as Capt. Van Schaick, who is not glad when he has 



THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 11 

passed through Hell Gate without a collision and without 
being slewed out of his course against its rocky sides. 

STEAMBOAT BURSTS INTO FLAMES. 

Though Capt. Van Schaick did not know it, the steamer 
must even then have been on fire. Just back of the crew's 
quarters, up in the bow of the steamer under the main 
deck, is what is called the second cabin. On the Slocum 
this cabin has been used as a sort of storeroom. Spare 
hawsers and paint and oils were kept there. Gasolene was 
kept there, and it was there that Albert Payne, a negro 
steward, kept the ship's lamps when they were not in place, 
and cleaned and filled them. Payne, his face ashy with 
the horrors he had been through, swore that he had fin- 
ished cleaning all the lamps before the boat left her dock 
early that morning, and that he had not been in the 
room, except to see that everything was all right. He 
swore that just before the boat left East Third street the 
second cabin was all right. 

Along the Astoria shore, where there are many yards for 
the building of small boats, the trouble was known sooner 
than it was on the steamer itself. As the Slocum passed 
Broadway, Astoria, John E. Eonan, a Dock Department 
em.ployee, was struck with the gayety of the steamer, with 
her flags, her music and her load of hilarious children, and 
called to a companion: 

"Look at the Slocum ! Don't it make you hate to work 
when you see a crowd having as good a time as that?" 

But a quarter of a mile further on, William Alloway, the 
captain of a dredge, saw a burst of smoke puff out from 
the lower deck of the Slocum just forward of the smoke- 
stacks. He let off four blasts of his dredge whistle. At 
the same moment other boats on each side of the river be- 



12 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

gan to toot shrill warnings. Alloway and his men could 
see a scurrying on the decks of the Slocum. They won- 
dered why Capt. Van Schaick didn't back his boat right 
into the Astoria shore. 

ALARII AT LAST GIVEN ON BOARD. ^ 

From the best understanding of the situation which 
could be gained from those who were left alive when every- 
thing was over, it was quite a while after the Slocum was 
first found to be on fire that the seriousness of the situation 
was understood by all of her officers and crew. Very few 
of the passengers knew anything of the real danger they 
w^re in until the burning and drowning had begun. 

Eddie Flanagan was the Slocum's mate. On excursion 
steamers the safety and comfort of the passengers are dele- 
gated to the mate, while the captain is in the pilot house, as 
he always is, very properly, while the boat is in motion. To 
Flanagan there came a deckhand and Steward McGann. 
He caught Flanagan by the shoulder and said : 

"Mate, there's a fire forward, and it's got a pretty good 
headway." 

Flanagan jumped down through the dark space in the 
middle of the boat and turned the lever of the fire drill 
alarm. He sent McGann to warn Capt. Van Schaick. 
The crew was not enough to handle so many passengers. ' 
The fire crackled up through one deck after another, licking 
out far on the port side. There was a rush for the stern. 
Some of the children thought that the whole alarm was a 
joke, and laughed and pummeled one another as they ran. 
The mothers didn't. They lumbered after, trying vainly 
to keep hold of some one garment on the bodies of each one 
of their youngsters. 

Captain Van Schaick ran back from the pilot-house and 



THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 13 

saw that Flanagan had two lines of hose run from the 
steamer's fire-pumps toward the second cabin, and that 
the water was already spurting through them. The fire 
drill on the Slocum was always well done. It was held, 
without any requirement of law, once every week. But this 
fire was beyond any mere fire drill. It took Captain Van 
Schaick only a minute to see that he ought to get his pas- 
sengers ashore as soon as he could. He determined on. the 
north shore of North Brother Island. 

THE FULL HORROR COMES IN HASTE. 

It takes time to read of all these things. It took almost 
no time at all for them to happen. The yells and screams 
of the few people who were caught on tlie decks below the 
hurricane deck forward were ringing horribly across the 
water. The roar and crackle of the oil-fed flames shut 
these screams off from the frightened mass of Sunday 
School people aft. 

Kelk and Van Tassel had leaped into the crowds when 
tlie fire-gongs rang. It was due to them that more women 
and children were not caught forward of the fire. They 
herded the people back like sheep until nearly the whole 
company were huddled together on the broad afterdecks. 
The fire was eating its way back steadily. The 
people were getting more and more frightened. Moth- 
\ ers whose children had been separated from them in the 
rush were getting frantic, and dashing madly through the 
crowd. Confusion grew almost as fast as the fire at the 
other end of the boat was growing. Van Tassel took to 
the rail. 

^^Now, everybody keep quiet!" he shouted again and 
again, waving his big arms reassuringly at women who were 
grasping the rail and already leaning over and trying to 
make up their minds to jump. 



14 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

Pastor Haas had found his wife and his twelve-year-old 
daughter Gertrude and had put them near the back of a 
companion way, where he was sure he could find them. He, 
too, tried to calm his people. He might as well have tried 
to calm the whirling tide that was bearing the burning | 
steamer along to its end. They were fighting now. Moth 
ers who had started side by side with an endless fund of 
sympathy for domestic difficulties were fighting like wild 
beasts. 

OVERBOARD BY HUNDREDS. 

Screams came from the water. A woman looked over 
and saw three children floating by on the starboard side. 
The head of one of them was covered with blood where a 
blade of the paddlewheel had wounded it. The woman 
screamed just once, so loud that for a moment all the other 
horrible sounds of the boat seemed hushed. She pointed a 
finger at the little bodies that were floating back from the 
forward decks. 

"Frieda!" she screamed. "Meine Frieda !'' 

Before a hand could be raised to stop her, if indeed there 
was anyone there cool enough in that moment to raise a 
hand, the mother jumped on the seat and threw herself 
over the rail. She sank, whirling over and over in the swift 
current. So did the children. But other bodies came. 
As the flames worked upward and backward more and more 
people were driven to jump to escape being burned. Merci- 
fully, the pilot-house, away forward and up in the air, was 
in a position which the flames found it hard to reach. The 
captain and his pilots wem able to keep steering. 

It seemed to be the captain's purpose as he came up past 
130th street to try to find a berth on The Bronx side 
of the stream. There are a number of coal and wood yards 
along there and some factories. Eivermen said that he 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 15 

might well have carried out his plan. The land forces of 
the Fire DejDartment could have reached him there. But 
he said that a tug warned him off, telling him that he would 
only be setting fire to the shore buildings, and would not be 
helping his people in the least, if he ran in there. 

BOATS TO THE RESCUE. 

At any rate, the General Slocum, observed now by hun- 
dreds of horror-dazed people on both sides of the stream 
and on the islands, turned again toward North Brother. 
Steamers and tugs from far down stream were making 
after her. The Department of Correction boat Massasoit 
was on the far side of the Brother islands. Her captain 
lay in wait for the Slocum^ not knowing through what 
channel she would come. From down stream came the 
slim, white Franklin Edson, the Health Department boat. 
Thence, too, came the sturdy little Wade, with her tough- 
talking, daredevil, great-hearted little captain. Jack Wade. 
There came also the tugs Theo and Easy Time, tooting 
their whistles, headed for the burning steamer. 

LOOKED TO THE MAINLAND FOR HELP. 

On board the Slocum horror was being piled on horror 
too fa€t for any one to keep track of them. The fire, leap- 
ing now high above the framework of the steamer's hog- 
hack and roaring with a smoky glare of red tongues up 
thirty feet over the tall brown smokestacks, had begun to 
scorch the edges of the compact mass of women and chil- 
dren who were crowding back out of its way at the rear 
end of the boat. 

The greater number of these people by far were on The 
Bronx side of the decks. They seemed to feel, poor crea- 



\ 



16 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

tures, that small as their chance for rescue was, when it 
came it would come from the thickly populated shore 
rather than from the bleak, rocky, bare spaces on the 
islands on the starboard side. The Slocum was now oppo- 
site 138th street, heading partly across the river toward 
North Brother Island. 

OVERBOARD WITH BROKEN" RAIL. 

With a crack and echoing volley of screams that set 
on edge the teeth of men hardened to almost any form of 
death or evidence of pain, the port rail of the Slocum's 
after-deck gave way and all the people near it slipped and 
slid, one over another, into the water. She had hardly gone 
200 yards further on — indeed, by ones and threes and twos 
and sevens gaily dressed women and little tots all in white 
were seen whirling down from the deck into the racing tide 
— ^when worse came. The steamers and tugs in pursuit 
were catching up one woman here or a child there, but it 
was not much they could do. The tide was too swift, 
and there was too much work to be done ahead to warrant 
any delay over individuals. 

EXPLOSION BURIES HUNDREDS. 

There was a puff like a great cough down in the Slocum's 
inwards. A red starry cloud of sparks and smoke and 
flames shot up and the greater part of the superstructure 
aft plunged forward into the flames. How many hundreds 
of lives were snuffed out in that one instant nobody will 
ever know. Outsiders could see writhing, crawling figures 
in the burning wreckage, slipping down further and further 
into the flames until they were gone. As bees cling along a 
branch when they are swarming, there was a thick clusteiy 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM i/ioASTER 17 

ing of women, all screaming, and boys and girls around the 
-edges of so much of the superstructure as was still stand- 
ing. 

At the very back Kelk, the policeman, was standing, 
catching up some of the smallest children and hurling 
them out at the decks of the nearest following steamers. 
Mothers threw their children overboard and leaped after 
them. When the stanchions burned out and the super- 
structure fell families were separated. 

Thus it happened to Dominie Haas. He had given up 
as hopeless any effort to get the people quiet, and had 
just found his wife and daughter. The crash came and 
he lost them. 

BEACHED AT LAST. 

i^ow the big steamer, ablaze for more than two-thirds 
of her 250 feet of length, was rounding the point of North 
Brother Island. The flames were reaching out for the 
pilot-house. The door toward the fire was blackened here 
and there and the paint blisters were bursting with little 
puffs of fire. But the hundred nurses gathered eagerly on 
shore waiting a chance to help, saw old man Van Schaick 
and his pilots at their wheel, straining forward as though 
by their own physical force they could make the boat go 
faster. 

The captain and Van Wart are both of scrawny, hollow- 
cheeked build. Both have sandy side-whiskers, cropped 
<5lose. Van Wart is taller than the captain. Weaver, the 
other pilot, is of heavier build. They made a wonderful 
picture, the three of them. Afterward, when the horrors 
were all over except the most ghastly horror of all — the 
piling up and labeling of the dead — ^men spoke of the pic- 
ture. It was at no moment certain that the pilot-house 



18 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

would not shrivel up and vanish in a puff of smoke. If if 
did the Slocum would never get close enough to the shore 
to make it possible for help to be given to the passengers 
who were still living. And the two old men and the 
younger, with never a look backward, whirled their wheel 
and braced it, and with their teeth set close together and 
never a word kept their eyes fixed on the one little stretch 
of rocky beach where it was possible for a steamer as big as. 
the Slocum to be beached accurately and safely. 

They succeeded in the fight that they had been making 
all the way from the Sunken Meadows, where the Sea- 
wanhaka was beached years ago. Capt. Van Schaick was 
past the Sunken Meadows, he s?id yesterday, before he 
knew that he had a fire on his boat, and the tide was too 
strong to let him turn back to beach her there, even had 
there been any way of rescue out there in the middle of 
the river. 

WORK OF RESCUE. 

The only heartening incidents of the whole horrible half 
hour began happening as soon as the Slocum^s bottom 
scraped on the North Brother Island shore, about twenty- 
five feet from the sea wall. 

The Massasoit, which was the closest boat behind the 
Slocum when she struck, drew so much water that it was 
impossible to get her bow within fifty feet of the Slocum. 
It didn^t make any difference to Carl Rappaport, her cox- 
swain. He took a running jump forward over the bow 
and swam toward the burning steamer. Like a big red- 
headed St. Bernard he grabbed two babies and swam back 
to his own boat. Meantime the captain of the Massasoit 
was putting boats overboard as fast as he knew how. When 
these were out picking up people from the water wherever 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 19^ 

they could, Rappaport was floundering around helping 
from the water side. 

The Fi-anklin Edson, with her new clean coat of white 
and gilt paint, drew less water than the Massasoit and 
went right up to the Slocum's side so that peopk jumped 
from the burning decks and were dragged back to safety. 
For safety was not on the forward deck of the Edson. 
She needs a new coat of paint. Her forward windows 
were cracked by the heat and there are the marks of flame 
for the forward thirty feet of her superstructure. 

JACK WADE AXD RUDDY m'CARROL. 

Jack Wade, master and owner of his little tug, was pitch- 
ing his life preservers over, turning loose his boats and 
pushing up so close to the burning decks that the hair on 
his brawny arms frizzled and his men, John McDonnell, 
Euddy McCarrol and Bob Brannigan, had their shirts 
burned of! their backs. It wasn't worth while afterward 
to attempt to get this crew to tell how many lives it saved. 
They had been too busy to count. 

Ruddy McCarrol was plain beaten out for the first time 
in his life. The effort which finished him had been get- 
ting a very heavy German woman over the side, single- 
handed. When she was aboard she began to scream. Ruddy 
laid himself out flat, face down along the rail, and was 
sure he was going to die, he was so exhausted. 

FIREBOAT COMES FLYING UP. 

All along the shore, as the burning steamboat had come 
along the stream on the breast of the tide, fire alarms had 
been rung. One alarm at tlie foot of 138th street was 
rung three times. There was nothing the firemen could 
do when they came except just one thing, which was done 
at once. The captain of the first company to arrive at the 



20 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

river's edge telephoned for the fireboat Zophar Mills. She 
€ame up the river, screaming, with a voice that ontscreamed 
-all the other whistles which were being blown in every fac- 
tory and yard from which the blazing steamship could 
be seen. 

The captain of the Mills saw that the Slocnm was beached 
and that rescuers were more needed than pumpers of water. 
He ran into 138th street and took aboard Capt. Geoghegan 
and all the reserves of the Alexander Avenue Station and 
took them over the river to help in the work of picking 
people out of the water from rowboats and tugs. There is 
a big marble works opposite I>rorth Brother Island. The 
boss, when he saw the Slocum, knocked off all work and 
:sent his 150 men across in any and every sort of craft that 
they could lay their hands on. 

NURSES WADE OUT UP TO THEIR NECKS. 

Meantime the hundred nurses and the tuberculosis pa- 
iients were doing wonderful things. Delicate-looldng yo.ung 
women, in the dainty white uniforms which nurses wear, 
ran down to the water's brink and waded in up to their 
necks and formed human chains, along which struggling, 
half-drowned refugees were passed. Miss O'Donnell, the 
assistant nurse in charge, went out and brought in seven 
dead people and eight living. Every other nurse in the 
place was doing nearly as v/ell. Dr. Watson, the head of 
the hospital, was out in the Vv'ater with them, cheering them 
on. Mary McCann, a 16-year-old ward helper, just over 
from Ireland^ swam out four times and each time brought 
ta. living child to the shore. 

HULK A FURNACE MANY STILL ALIVE ABOARD. 

Even though relieved by these evidences — but one or two 
-out of hundreds that were happening unrecorded — of the 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 23 

working of good and brave human hearts, the misery and 
the horror were going on almost undiminished. The great 
hulk was still burning like a furnace on top of the water. 
Living men and women were still rolling out from her 
decks. Hundreds sought shelter from the heat under the 
paddle-boxes, which seemed slow to burn. In there, among 
the wet paddle-blades, the rescue boats were filled again and 
again. 

SIX- year-old's VAIN" CLIMB FOR LIFE. 

Long after every one had given up any idea that there 
was a human life in the forward part of the boat, except 
those of Capt. Van Schaick and his two pilots, there was a 
shout of surprise and agony on shore. A small boy — he 
seemed about six years old — climbed up to the flagstaff 
and began to make his way up as though to get away from 
the deck, which was burning under him. He climbed a 
little higher and a little higher with each jump of the 
tongues of flame from below until he was almost at the 
top. He was a sturdy-looking little chap, and each time 
he found he had not gone enough he would shake his 
yellow curls determinedly and work his way a few inches 
more. It v/as a brave fight, but he lost it. The flagstaff 
began to tremble, just as a boat was getting around in 
position to get at the child. The staff fell back into the 
floating furnace, and the boy with it. 

LIVING borne past THE DEAD. 

As fast as dead and living were brought ashore the 
weaker of the convalescent patients took them and carried 
them up on the lawn. There was a constantly increas- 
ing number of physicians coming over from the mainland, 
some of them in rovrboats. Every burnt woman or child 
who showed any signs of life was carried into the buildings. 
The nurses' quarters and the doctors' quarters and the 



24 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

stables and every place that had a roof where cots conld be 
erected was filled — except those in which there were con- 
tagions diseases. 

The dead were laid ont in long rows on the grass. The 
living walked or were carried by them. Heartrending rec- 
ognitions were there: women throwing themselves on the 
bodies of their children; children catching at their moth- 
ers' hands and begging them to "wake np," and scream- 
ing inconsolably when they realized that there would be 
no waking np. 

There was too much to be done at once for any list to 
be kept of those who were rescued. The Eev. Mr. Haas 
was pulled out of the water, into which he had fallen soon 
after the Slocum beached^ and found to be not very badly 
injured. But it was more than an hour before he could 
be found and identified. 

One reason for the heavy loss of life ascribed by those 
who assisted in. the work of rescue was the apparent inabil- 
ity of all the passengers of the Slocum to swim. Scores 
were drowned within a few steps of firm footing. Not a 
few were drowned who might have saved themselves by 
standing up. Capt. Van Schaick and his pilots and all 
the rest o.f his crew except Steward McGann and Chief En- 
gineer Conklin swam ashore without much difficulty after 
they once got safely into the water away from the flames. 
It is not laiown what happened to McGann. Other mem- 
bers of the crew were sure that when the divers got down 
into the wreck of the Slocum they would find that Chief 
Engineer Conklin w^ould be found dead at his post, from 
which he might have escaped any time, had he wanted to 
abandon the passengers to their fate. 

BURNED TO THE WATER^S EDGE. 

When the Zophar Mills' commander was satisfied thai 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 25 

there was no more chance of saving any lives he ordered 
that the burning hulk be got out of the way. With the 
help of several of the other tugs she was yanked out into 
the stream and floated, ablaze from stem to stern, over to 
Hunt's Point, a mile away, where she grounded again and 
burned to the water's edge and sank. She lies now about 
half a mile from Hunt's Point on the Bronx side of the 
stream and about a mile north of Xorth Brother Island. 
She lies with her yellow smokestacks tilted over to the 
south and one of her big yellow paddle-boxes visible. For 
the rest there is an outline of charred timbers and nothing 
more. 

WORTHLESS LIFE PRESERVERS ON THE DEAD. 

On many of the bodies which were recovered were life 
preservers which seemed to have been perfectly worthless. 
Assistant District Attorney Garvan's attention was called 
to a collection of the Slocmn's life preservers which had 
been made by Capt. Jack Wade. These life preservers were 
covered with such flimsy, rotten stuff that they could be 
ripped open by a scratch with one's thumbnail. They were 
filled with ground-up cork instead of with solid chunks 
which would retain their buoyancy. 

The work of recovering bodies went on steadily from the 
time when all hope of saving more lives ended. Nearly a 
hundred policemen, assisted by men from all the hospitals 
and morgues, vrent out in small boats and waded out and 
worked from the shore and from the decks of the tugs with 
grappling-hooks, dragging up all that was left of victims 
of the disaster. The bodies of some of those who were 
burned were in an indescribably horrible condition. 

In the rush and confusion there were many things which 
in the face of a disaster less appalling would have shocked 



26 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

the sensibilities of the most hardened man who witnessed 
them, such, for instance, as the sight witnessed on a trip 
on a tug across to North Brother Island — a rowboat, with 
two men at the oars, and a small boy, who was holding a 
line by which were towed the bodies of three women, dressed 
all three in flimsy white dresses. Nobody was to blame. 
The boat wonld have been swamped with the three bodies 
inside. 

NIGHT INCREASES THE HORROR. 

At 10:30 at night 415 corpses had been recovered and 
tagged at North Brother's Island. Fifty had been recov- 
ered at other points. They included a dozen that had first 
been landed at Oak Point. More were coming in at the 
rate of twenty an hour. 

The police of the harbor squad, assisted by volunteers, 
were wading and rowing about the shore picking them 
up with grappling-hooks. So numerous were the corpses 
that early in the evening the bodies were recovered at the 
rate of one a minute. 

FISHING UP THE DEAD UNDER SEARCHLIGHT. 

All the boats used by the police and other workers were 
equipped with lanterns. In addition lights were hung on 
poles that had been stuck in the mud along the shore of the 
island. The police boat Patrol stood by constantly with a 
big searchlight playing on the waters. The employees of 
the hospital rigged up temporary lines of incandescent 
lights along the lawn to aid those at work in tabulating 
and searching the bodies. 

CORPSES KNOWN ONLY BY NUMBER. 

As soon as the bodies were taken from the water they 
were laid in groups of four each. They were first tagged 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM UiSASTER. 27 

and tlien searched. All jewelry, papers and valuables taken 
from the bodies were thrown into hnge bags. Each batch 
of valuables taken from a body was tagged with the num- 
ber corresponding to that on the body. 

After the searching and tagging of the bodies had been 
completed photographs were taken of the groups of four. , 
This was done by the use of flashlights. 

FIRST PHOTOGRAPH A WOMAN" AND THREE CHILDREN. 

The first photograph taken was a group of four, consist- 
ing of a woman and three children. The bodies were 
stretched out along the lawn, with the heads propped 
against the wall of the scarlet fever hospital. 

It was decided to send all the valuables taken from the 
dead to the office of Coroner 0' Gorman, at 177th street and 
Third avenue. 

It was at first proposed to send all bodies to the Morgue, 
at Twenty-sixth street, where arrangements had been made 
to turn the big Charities Department dock into a tempo- 
rary morgue, so that the bodies would then be brought 
nearer to their homes and could thus be more easily iden- 
tified. 

DIVER RICE VOLUNTEERS. 

At 7 o'clock at night a Merritt-Chapman wrecking tug, ' 
with full crew and three divers, reached North Brother 
Island. One of these divers was John Eice, who went to 
Boonton, N. J., and brought the body of Bill Hoar to the 
surface, when others had failed to do so. Eice was gladly 
welcomed, and joining the others in the wrecking crew, hur- 
ried to the charred and sunken steamer to recover the bodies 
fastened in and about the wreck. Word was sent back by 



28 THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 

them some time later that the work would be very difficult 
owing to a lack of light. It was also stated that the single 
wrecking tiig Avas hardly able to cope with the situation, 
and Commissioner McAdoo decided to summon more help. 

NAVY YAED SENDS A TUG. 

He then telephoned to the authorities at the Brooklyn 
Navy Yard asking if they would help out, and received 
word back that a powerful navy tug, fitted up with search- 
lights, would be despatched to the scene immediately. 

NAVAL RESERVl^: SENDS BOATS AND CREWS. 

Commissioner McAdoo had already called on the First 
Eattalion, N. Y. Naval Eeserves, to come to his assistance. 
Commander Franklin, who received the message, sent two 
launches, the Oneida and Seneca, in command of Lieu- 
tenant Barnard and full crews made up of picked men 
from the New Hampshire, lying at the foot of East Twenty- 
fourth street. Commander Franklin ordered these men to 
report to Commissioner McAdoo, and they did so as soon as 
they reached North Brother Island. 

"We are at your service," said Lieutenant Barnard to the 
Commissioner, who met them at the landing, "and more 
men will be sent if needed.'' 

One of the launches was sent to aid the harbor police in 
the recovery of bodies from along the shore, and the other 
was used as a ferry between the island and the foot of East 
136th street. 

VOLUNTEERS FROM THE MAINLAND. 

When Coroner O'Gorman reached North Brother Island 
he was accompanied by Alderman John H. Dougherty, of 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 29 

The Bronx, and Fireman Thomas J. Cahill, of Engine 38. 
Alderman Dougherty begged to be allowed to help, and 
Coroner 0' Gorman put him to work along with the police 
from the Harbor Squad. 

It was Fireman Cahill's day off, and he volunteered his 
services to Coroner 0' Gorman, and was put to work with 
Alderman Dougherty. As late as midnight the two men 
were bringing bodies ashore. 

Dr. Darlington, President of the Health Board, arrived 
early in the afternoon, and was still seen superintending 
his men and hustling with his coat off at midnight. Cor« 
oner 0^ Gorman was also still there at that hour. 

RAILROAD FURNISHES LIGHTS. 

Just as he was leaving the island, someone called Mr. 
McAdoo's attention to the fact that the work in earing for 
the dead was made doubly difficult owing to the lack of 
proper light. As soon as he was told of this the Com- 
missioner hurried to a telephone and called up the office 
of the superintendent of the Metropolitan Street Railway. 
'"Will you help the City of New York out?" asked Mr. 
McAdoo. "In a minute !" was the reply. "Well, then, 
send up six of those gasolene flare lights you folks use when 
repairing the tracks at night," said the Commissioner. 

"We will send twenty-six, if you want them/' said the 
representative of the street railway company. Mr. McAdoo 
said that six would be enough. It was just fifty minutes 
later that a boat containing the requested lights reached 
the island. Two were placed on the lawn, where the bodies 
were being tagged. The other four were stationed along 
the shore, and greatly aided the men at work in the water. 
The powerful lights illuminated the faces of the dead on 
the lawn most plainly. 



30 THiJj v/Ei^ERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

Everybody praised the doctors, nurses and employees of 
the hospital on North Brother Island. All hands there 
worked unceasingly from the time the burning boat was 
first seen until late at night. Then many of them, espe- 
cially the women, actually fell from exhaustion. Dr. Dar- 
lington ordered them to retire, but some insisted on 
working. 

DIVERS COULD GET BUT FOUR BODIES OUT. 

At 11 o'clock at night Diver John Eice returned from 
the wrecked steamer with four bodies of children. They 
had been found in the afterhold of the vessel. Eice said 
that the divers had decided to make no more descents into 
the wreck, as it was plain to them that their labor would 
be useless. 

^IVe searched the forward part of the boat,'' said Diver 
Eice, "and could find no bodies. She has settled down 
with a crash into the middle and we couldn't explore that 
part. I suppose there are a lot of bodies there, but the 
wreckers will have to get to work before anyone can get in 
the center of the vessel. 

"The working crew are going to work all night on that 
part, and they say that if necessary to clear it they will 
split the boat in two parts. We divers will go out in the 
morning again." 

WATCHES STOPPED AT 10.20 AND 10.25. 

The watches on all the dead recovered early in the 
afternoon had stopped at 10.20 o'clock. The watches taken 
out last night had stopped at 10.25 o'clock. 

Eoundsmen Klute and Giloon, of the Harbor Squad, with 
a crew of men, were the first policemen to reach the burn- 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER, 31 

ing boat. All of them were more or less burned in effect- 
ing rescues. Between 3 o'clock in the afternoon and 11 
o'clock at night they had recovered 219 bodies. Eounds- 
man Daniel Eyan with Policemen Corbett, Franklin, Pow- 
ers and McKeown recovered 107 bodies in the same time. 

Dr. Darlington was reinforced by a large number of in- 
spectors from the Health Department, and they devoted 
their time entirely to tagging the bodies and arranging for 
their transfer to East Twenty-sixth street. 

The last six were recovered from the wreck. They were 
horribly burned, and came up with the wreckage torn up 
by the Merritt-Chapman crew. At 12.30 o'clock there were 
a total of 95 bodies left on North Brother Island. Of this 
number 39 were in the hospital morgue. Of those on the 
lawn 25 had been placed in coffins, and 31 were still lying 
on the grass covered with blankets. All the others had 
been sent to the East Twenty-sixth street morgue, or had 
been loaded on the boat that was leaving at this time. 



30 THE GENEEAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 



CHAPTER II. ■; 

HORROR AT NORTH BROTHER — WOMEN SNATCH MANY LIVES 
FROM THE RIVER — DOCTORS^ NURSES^ CONSUMPTION 

PATIENTS AND POLICE IN THE .WATER SAVING LIFE 

THE HUNDREDS OF UNRECOGNIZED DEAD PHOTOGRAPHED 
AND THEIR VALUABLES^ LARGE IN GROSS AMOUNT, 
CARED FOR. 

A HOSPITAL for the treatment of contagious diseases 
would not ordinarily be the place to look for heroism of the- 
spectacular type, but there was enough of it shown at North 
Brother to give the place a name in history. Everybody 
took a hand in the rescue work — doctors, nurses, ward 
helpers, engineers, health inspectors and laborers. Even 
the tuberculosis patients rendered splendid service when so 
many of the excursionists were struggling in the water after 
the burning steamer had been beached. None of the other 
patients was allowed to assist, but many of them who were 
on the road to recovery volunteered, and there was much 
excitement among them. It is estimated that the island 
people rescued 150 persons from drowning. 

Commissioner McAdoo, accompanied by his secretary^ 
reached the island in the middle of the afternoon on board 
the policeboat Patrol. At that time the lawn at the side 
of the main hospital was literally covered with corpses, and 
the police and others were fishing them out at the rate of 
one a minute. Three dead children, all roped together with 
toy horse-lines, were brought to the surface at one time. 



THE GENERAL SLGCUM DISASTER. 33 

The Commissioner shuddered and raised his hat. Next 
came a woman with a baby clasped in her arms. The Com- 
missioner raised his hat again. 

*Tt is the saddest sight I ever saw/' he said. Then he 
gave orders to the Merritt-Chapman Wrecking Company 
to send two divers to explore the hulk of the Slocum. He 
also engaged an expert photographer to make pictures of 
the bodies on the island. These pictures will be passed 
around among the members of St. Mark's congregation to 
facilitate identification. The Commissioner ordered the 
pictures made, fearing that decomposition would set in so 
quickly as to prevent identification in many cases. 

Among other officials who were on the island were Com- 
missioner Darlington, of the Health Department; Police 
Inspectors Albertson and Brooks, Coroners, O'Gorman, of 
The Bronx, and Scholer, of Manhattan; Captains, 
Geoghegan, of the Alexander Avenue Station, and Dean, 
of the steamboat squad. An army of other officials were 
there, together with doctors and nurses from nearly every 
hospital, public and private, in Greater New York. 

ALL HANDS TO THE RESCUE. 

The first man to see the burning boat from the island 
was James J. OweDs, a mason who was working on the 
laundry building. He shouted ^^Steamer afire !'' and made , 
for the landing. As he ran he notified Chief Engineer « 
Gaffney, of the pumphouse, who sounded the fire alarm. 
This aroused every soul on the island. When Owens 
reached the landing he launched a skiff with the assistance 
of Mate Johnson, of the Health Department boat, Frank- 
lin Edson, Avho was off duty. Both men got in and put 
out for the burning vessel, which was rounding the point 
close to shore. Owens plunged overboard and got a child. 



M THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

At the next plunge he got a man and two children. By 
this time the skiff was in the midst of a struggling crowd. 
So many tried to get aboard that the craft was upset about 
fifty feet from shore. Owens says he managed to drag six 
people with him when he swam in. 

In the meantime the Slocum had turned the point and 
was beached. The sea wall was lined with doctors, nurses 
and other hospital employees. As soon as the vessel struck 
they waded out into the water and began to drag people 
out. 

WOMEN WORK THE EIRE LADDERS. 

Along the side of the scarlet fever hospital were six 
35-foot fire ladders, placed there for an emergency. Door- 
ley, the superintendent of outdoor labor, called for volun- 
teers to push these ladders into the water and operate them 
as life lines. There was no response for the simple rea- 
son that practically every able-bodied man on the island 
was already in the water pulling out excursionists, dead 
and alive. 

Matron White, who was on the seawall with her assist- 
ants, sized up the situation in an instant. With her own 
hands she dragged one of the heavy ladders to the water 
and drew it back with three persons clinging to it. The 
other women then fell to, and soon all the ladders were 
working as life lines with splendid effect. Some of the 
women waded out to their waists and helped to pass the 
excursionists in. 

MARY m'cANN saved FOUR CHILDREN. 

Among them was Mary McCann, a buxom Irish girl, 
who had graduated from a measles patient into a ward help- 
er. She has the reputation of being the most expert swim- 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. SS 

mer on the island. Four times did she swim out near the 
Slocum, and on each trip brought back a live child. En- 
gineer Gaffney also did splendid service. At first he or- 
dered two lines of hose stretched to the seawall and extra 
pressure put on the pumps. He soon saw that these streams 
were futile, and he ordered the hose abandoned. 

"All overboard \" he yelled, and every man jumped. 
Gaffney worked away in the water until he collapsed from 
exhaustion. He was hanging on the seawall by his fingers 
when discovered, and it was some time before he recovered. 

Many of those brought in by the island people were un- 
conscious, and some of the doctors turned their attention 
to resuscitating them. Prominent in this work was Dr. 
Weisman, an interne. He worked until his tongue hung 
out like a dog's from fatigue. 

CHASE OF A THIEF. 

While Superintendent Doorley was helping to carry the 
victims up to the lawTi where they were laid out he spied a 
tall, muscular man, who looked like a Swede, reaching for 
the gold watch on a woman's breast. Doorley gave the 
alarm, whereupon the big man started on a run across the 
island, pursued by nurses and patients. He finally plunged 
into the water and swam to a skiff, which he boarded. That 
was the last seen of him. 

GREWSOME SIGHTS AT THE LANDING. 

There were corpses everywhere near the landing, many 
of them mutilated and burned beyond recognition. On the 
stringpiece were a bunch of bright brown hair and part of a 
woman's belt. 

As fast as the bodies were brought up they were searched 



36 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

by the Coroners and their assistants, and tagged. At 5 
o'clock Coroner O'Gorman had, in a huge basket, watches, 
jewelry, cash and bank books representing an estimated 
value of $180,000. One of the corpses was that of a com- 
fortably dressed, middle-aged woman, who wore an old- 
fashioned bustle. In it were found about twenty books on 
savings banks, showing deposits of nearly $40,000. The 
books were made out in the name of Eva Krenger. 

When the steamboats Massasoit and Fidelity had been 
loaded to their capacity with corpses for the Bellevue 
Morgue, temporary morgues were established in the old 
brick coal shed, in the disinfecting plant and in the old 
drug store. These were also soon filled, and at 6 o'clock 
there were at least 100 corpses still on the lawn. All after- 
noon and far into the night policemen toiled in the water 
and in boats, hauling up bodies with hooks and dragging 
and carrying them ashore. 

POLICE RESCUES. 

Policeman Giek, of the Alexander Avenue Station, was 
at the foot of 138th street with Louis Eiegel, an old life- 
saver, when the burning boat hove in sight. Eiegel pulled 
in two women and a child who had jumped overboard. 

Policeman Herbert C. Farrell, a model man, and Police- 
man James Collins, of the Alexander Avenue Station, are 
also listed among the heroes of the day. With Olaf Jen- 
sen, master of the sloop Baylis, they put out in a yawl for 
the Slocum. The heat was so intense that they were forced 
to go under the paddle-box. The burning boat was drifting 
then, and many were clinging to the blades of the wheel. 
The policemen took 24 persons aboard, of whom 16 were 
dead. Among those saved was J. Elliot, of 219 East Thir- 
teenth street, who was clinging to the paddles with two 
small children hanging to his neck. 



W 

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THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 39 

The first launch to reach the Slocum was the Kills, of 
the Dock Department. Captain Halloran got a medal from 
Congress when he was in the life-saving service. The 
launch was off 138th street when the burning boat was 
sighted. She put out and took on board 18 alive and 21 
dead. 

TWO OF A PARTY OF FIFTEEN FROM HOBOKEN SAFE. 

One of the largest family parties aboard the Slocum came 
from Hoboken. Most of the people in it were related 
closely to each other, and had been formerly members of 
St. Mark's Church. The party was accompanied to the boat 
in the morning by Mr. Fulling, a paper manufacturer, of 
53 Crosby street, this city. In the afternoon he went to 
North Brother Island in search of the excursionists. He 
was accompanied by Otto R. Erklin, a coal merchant, of 1 
Broadway, and Henry Klenan, a son of Mrs. Meta Klenan. 
They were nearly frantic with grief, and besought the re- 
porters for news of the lost ones. They were told before 
they left that Louise Garling, the nurse, was safe, and that 
she had rescued Mrs. Erklin's two-months-old baby. 

Among the people who had miraculous escapes were 
Florence Weiss of 507 East Eighty-seventh street and Mrs. 
Nicholas Schumacher of 529 East Eighty-second street. 
Some one threw them from the Slocum upon a tug, and 
dozens of others came tumbling down on top of them. 
They were not hurt. They said the boat burned like a 
paper box. 

Minnie Weiss, 13 years old, of 1235 Third avenue, was 
on the bow of the excursion steamer. She saw smoke and 
then a tongue of flame eating its way along the top deck 
toward where she stood. The crowd made a rush forward. 
She climbed down the side and got to the first deck, where 



40 THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 

there was no fire. She jumped into the water and caught 
hold of a woman who had a little boy in her arms. A 
rope was thrown to them from the Massasoit and they were 
dragged on board. Minnie was with her mother, Mrs. Otto 
Weiss, and her brother, George, who was 15 years old. She 
thinks that both were lost. 

George Kirschner, 13 years old, of 18 Russell street, 
jumped from the Slocum and swam ashore. His mother, 
brother, sister, grandfather and two cousins were with him. 
He said he thought they were all lost. 



STORIES THE SURVIVORS TELL. 



PAMILIES PARTED IN THE RUSH BEFORE THE ELAMES. 

Herman Lembeck, 14 years old, of 14 East Ninth street, 
was picked up by the launch Kills and brought to Riker's 
Island. 

"I was with my mother, two brothers and two sisters 
on the hurricane deck,^' the boy said. "We saw a lot of 
smoke and flames coming from below and mother got 
scared. Just then Dr. Haas, the minister, came running up 
to us. He said it was nothing but some coifee burning 
And begged us to be calm. 

"He then went off looking for his own family. We all 
stood holding on to mother and then the deck broke under- 
neath us. I lost hold of mother and fell into the water.. 
When I came up I saw my sister Dora hanging on to the 
paddle-wheel. I looked for her after I was picked up, but 
she had gone.^' 



THE GENEKAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 41 

Freda Gardiner was one of a number of children res- 
cued by a rowboat off East 138th street. She had been 
with her aunt on the main deck. 

"We were all laughing," said the child, "because my 
aunt had said she was afraid on such a big boat. When 
the first cry of fire came^ Aunt Louise told me to hold onto 
her hand, but the crowd came rushing at us and swept 
her away from me. A big man picked me up in his arms 
and held me in front of him, but he couldn't keep his 
feet. 

"I fell over the rail^ and when I came up I grabbed a 
big piece of timber. A man in the water tried to grab 
hold of me and when he missed me I saw him go down. 
The rowboat came up just as I was about to let go the log, 
I was so weak."^ 

SWAM ashoee; all his family lost. 

George Kircher swam ashore to Biker's Island. He told 
those on the island that his mother, brother, sister, aunt 
and grandfather had been with him on the boat, and they 
had been drowned, he thought. 

"We had seats along the rail on the top deck,'' the boy 
said, "and we stayed together for a long time, hoping that 
somxc boat would come and take us off. The flames started 
in the front of the boat, and that made the crowd come 
toward us. It was awful to see them. I saw little chil- 
dren trampled on. 

"Everybody was making for the back of the boat, and 
behind them seemed to be a big vrave of flame. As the 
crowd from the front got to where we were the railing burst 
into flame, and then I had to jump. Just as I jumped part 
of the deck gave way and I saw the people tumbling down 
into the water through a big hole in the deck." 



43 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

The boy went around the island for hours searching for 
his relatives and sobbing. 

ONLY ONE OF NINE CAME BACK. 

Nine persons from the tenement 54 Seventh street, in 
the rear of St. Mark's Church, none of them members of 
the congregation, went with the excursion. Only one came 
back. 

Mrs. Lena De Luccia, who lives on the top floor front, 
took her four children, ranging in age from two and a 
half years to twelve, for the sake of the sail. She per- 
suaded her neighbor across the hall, a young married 
woman named Sophie Siegel, to join the party. Yester- 
day morning Mrs. Galefsky, on the floor below, decided 
to go, too, and took her two young children. 

Mrs. De Luccia was the only one who returned. Her 
hands and arms were horribly burned. She and her chil- 
dren, she said, were all together on the main deck, near.- 
the wheel-box, when she saw the smoke and flames for- 
ward. She picked up her baby and, with her other chil- 
dren, crowded to the rail. Men went around, she says, 
shouting that there was no danger. 

Next she remembers a wave of frenzied women and chil- 
dren forced her overboard. She lost her baby and saw no 
more of her other children. Mrs. Siegel struck the water 
alongside of her, but she did not see her come to the 
surface. 

The Slocum^s engines had stopped and Mrs. De Luccia 
clung to a paddle-blade. As the superstructure burned, 
the iron got so hot that it blistered her hands. Then a 
Towboat picked her up. 

FIVE LITTLE GIRLS WHO WERE SAVED. 

Five little girls from the Slocum who boarded a Third 



THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 43 

avenue train at Eighty-fourth street, attracted at- 
tention by their attire. They all wore dresses too little or 
too big, and the faces of some were tear-stained. 

A customs inspector, who sat beside one of the girls, who 
'! had a big black and blue lump on the left side of her 
forehead, and two fingers done up in splints, learned from 
her that she was Katie Kaffenberger of 436 Sixth street. 
She is an only child and she was going home to her 
mother. 

"I Jumped from the top of the steamboat into a tug," 
she said. "I was hurt by lots of people who jumped on 
me and on other little girls who jumped when I did. I 
am glad I have only a few little hurts. I saw a great 
many jump and fall overboard, and I know there must be a 
lot drowned.'^ 

Another little girl in the party was Louise Motzer, nine 
years old. As they were going home after getting off the 
elevated train at Ninth street a big man came up to them, 
and, peering into the face of Louise, said: ^^Are you 
Motzer ?'' 

Louisa, who was somewhat startled by the big man's 
earnestness, said she was, and he grabbed her up and ran 
off with her, not stopping until he reached the saloon of 
her father and deposited Louisa in his arms. 

Louisa said she had become separated from her mother 
■■ and her little sister, Lena, four years old, and that she 
had failed to find them at the hospital after she got ashore. 
They were not home when Louisa got there, and Mr. Mot- 
zer decided that they were among the lost. 

woman's jump from SECOND DECK. 

One of the injured in the Harlem Hospital is Mrs. Nel- 
lie Kessebaum of 196 Guernsey street, Brookljm. She was 



44 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

saved because she had nerve enough to jump from the sec- 
ond deck of the Slociim to the deck of a tugboat. 

She was standing at the forward end of the boat, with 
the flames working toward her. She had ahnost given up 
hope, when a tugboat came along. 

As the tug neared the steamer's side she leaned over 
the rail, poised herself a moment, and then jumped. She 
landed on the deck of the tugboat, v/here some of the ^rew 
were waiting for tlie jump. Later she was landed on North 
Brother Island, where she was cared for until she was 
taken away in the ambulance. 

John Halphusen, the sexton of the church, who is 70 
years old, and was rescued by a tug, sa3's that in his 
opinion the crew of the General Slocum was undisciplined 
and did not know how to use a hose. He was standing 
with Dr. Haas and his family, aft on the main deck, when 
the fire v/as .discovered. 

PRAISE FOR DR. HAAS' BRAVERY. 

Dr. Haas, according to the sexton, conducted himself 
most bravely and worked in an unsuccessful effort to close 
the hatch doors until he was blinded with the smoke and 
heat. Then he returned to his wife and daughter, but lost 
them in the excitement. 

Halphusen had his tv/o daughters on board also. All 
these clung to the paddle-wheel until they were picked up 
by the tug Sumner. 

The twin sons of John C. Heins, George and Theodore, 
15 3^ears old, of 344 East Fourth street, were among the 
rescued. They were on the boat with their mother and 
their younger brother, Frank, whose leg had been broken 
and was in a plaster cast. 

First George jumped from the upper deck. As he struck 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 45 

the water a woman landed on him and partly stunned him. 
Theodore also jumped. Both boys are crack swimmers. 
George was picked up by a tug and Theodore swam to 
EandalFs Island. They met at home six hours later. Their 
mother also was there. She jumped overboard and clung 
to the paddle-wheel, at the same time supporting another 
woman, who was finally taken from her by a negro, a 
member of the crew. 

Frank, the brother with a broken leg, is still missing. 



'4Q THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 



CHAPTER III. 

The following are facts and incidents as collected by 
another writer: 

The swift and terrible destruction of human life in the 
burning of the General Slociim created intense excitement 
in the city and led to widespread expressions of horror and 
sympathy. Many found in the fact that nearly all of the 
victims of the disaster were women and children addi- 
tional cause for sorrow. 

One reason for the extent of the disaster was the panic 
which prevented the use of the steamer's lifeboats or any 
considerable use of the life preservers on the boat. Hun- 
dreds of women and children, panic-stricken by the rapid 
spread of the flames while the steamboat was running two 
miles for a landing place, crowded other hundreds over- 
board before life preservers could be adjusted. 

MORE THAN 1,500 ABOARD. 

When the steamboat General Slocum left her pier at 
Third street to carry an excursion crowd of the Sunday 
School of St. Mark's Lutlieran Church of No. 323 Sixth 
street, near First avenue, to Locust Grove, Long Island, 
982 tickets to the excursion were taken up. As more than 
one child had been admitted on a single ticket, however, in 
many cases, there were known to be more than fifteen hun- 
dred members of the excursion aboard. There were in ad- 
dition twenty-three mem.bers of the crew, about a dozen 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 47 

waiters and some musicians. Capt. William H. Van 
Schaick, an experienced and old-time excursion boat com- 
mander, was in command of the General Slocum. 

The steamboat stopped at Twenty-third street at 9 a. m. 
long enough to take aboard a few more passengers. Most 
of the women and children on the boat were on the main 
deck and hurricane deck, enjoying themselves under the 
kindly eye of their pastor, the Eev. George C. F. Haas, 
when the disaster overtook them. From the stories of sur- 
vivors the first sign of fire seems to have been noticed as 
the vessel was passing the Sunken Meadows, off 122d street. 

THEORIES AS TO ORIGIN". 

Accounts differ as to just where the fire started, some 
declaring it had its origin in the forecastle, on the main 
deck, while others, the latter being in the majority, say it 
started in the boiler room almost amidships. The origin 
of the fire is also a matter of uncertainty. It was said by 
several men who were passengers on the boat that a care- 
less bootblack left some oily rags near a vessel filled with 
benzine or oil, whether in the forecastle or boiler room they 
could not say, and that spontaneous combustion started the 
blaze that had such disastrous results. Still another ver- 
sion was that a pan of grease boiled over in the kitchen 
of a lunchroom on the forward part of the freight deck and 
started the blaze. 

The flames spread with great rapidity. Some of the 
crew said after the disaster that they tried to get water on 
the flames, and found that the pumps would not work. 
Some of the survivors say that the crew became demoral- 
ized from the start, and did little except save themselves. 
The panic spread as fast as the flames. 

Capt. Van Schaick was in the pilot-house with Edward 



48 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

L. A^an Wart, the pilot. He says that as soon as he 
was apprised of the fact that the boat was on fire he gave 
the signal to the crew to report to quarters and fight the 
flames. The captain at first thought he might beach his 
vessel on the Sunken Meadows, where the ill-fated Sewan- 
haka was destroyed by fire in 1880. He found, however, 
he says, that the wind was blowing in a direction that 
would cause the fire to spread more quickly if he attempted 
to reach the Meadows. He therefore signaled the engineer 
to put on all steam, while he headed the burning boat for 
North Brother Island, the nearest available place for run- 
ing her ashore. 

The speed of the boat fanned the flames, sending tliem 
roaring along the lower deck. Clouds of smoke almost 
shut the upper decks from view. Hundreds of women and 
children on those decks began to rush toward the stern 
of the boat. They became insane with terror as the panic 
increased. The crush forced many helpless people against 
the railings of the decks with such force that the stanch- 
ions were broken and the railings were swept away. 

SWEPT INTO THE WATER. 

Then from the decks hundreds of women and children 
were swept into the water, some falling on one another and 
sinking together to drown before any help could reach 
them. Capt. Van Schaick was keeping the whistle of the 
General Slocum going to attract the attention of other 
boats, and several boats within sight started toward her 
at full speed. In the race some of the boats picked up 
people in the water. 

In the race for the burning steamer people on the tug- 
boat Easy Times saw two other boats decline assistance. 
-Capt. Churchill says he saw the ferryboat Bronx stop on her 



THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 49 

run to North Beacli long enough to allow the General 
Slocum to pass her bow, and then continue on her trip with- 
out attempting to save any of the people who were falling 
overboard from the steamboat. The ferryboat people, how- 
ever, deny this. A private yacht, the name of which 
was not discerned, drew out of the way of the burning 
steamboat and lowered a launch. Two men got into the 
launch from the yacht. Instead of making for the General 
Slocum, however, the launch carried the men to The Bronx 
shore, while the yacht continued on her way to the Sound. 
Most of the boats which joined in the work of rescue 
could not get near the General Slocum until she ran 
aground off the north shore of North Brother Island. 
Among the boats that hurried to the succor of the stricken 
passengers were several tugs of the New York Central Eail- 
road Compan}^, the Health Department tug Franklin Ed- 
son, and the Charities Department boat Massasoit. These 
and several rowboats manned by willing hands approached 
as near the blazing steamboat as was possible and rescued 
scores of people. Most of these were picked out of the 
water after they had dropped over the side of the General 
Slocum. The Franklin Edson went up so close to the 
burning steamer that her own paint was scorched. The 
crew of the tug, however, stuck bravely to their task and 
snatched many women and children from a terrible death. 

DECKS CAVE IN. 

A strong flood-tide was running when the General Slo- 
cum went aground on some rocks nearly 100 feet from the 
shore of North Brother Island. As she struck the rocks 
her hurricane deck, on which many of the panic-stricken 
women and children were clinging, suddenly caved in, pre- 
cipitating its human freight either into the blazing hold 



50 THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 

or into the water. The water around the flaming vessel was 
thick with drowning people, and, notwithstanding the al- 
most superhuman efforts made hy the rescuers, a large 
number of the perishing people had to be left to their fate. 
Many of those who jumped into the water or were precipi- 
tated over the side of the vessel when the hurricane deck 
collapsed were on fire from head to foot and they escaped 
one form of death only to meet another more merciful. 

A man who is serving a two months' term on Black- 
welFs Island for some petty offence, and who was detailed 
as a "trusty'' on the Charities Department boat ]\Iassa- 
soit, proved that he had good stuff in him when the emer- 
gency arose. He was George Dennis, and when he saw 
people struggling in the water around the burning boat he 
jumped overboard and saved a woman's life. Then, with 
his clothing soaking wet, he returned to his work on the 
Massasoit. His bravery will be called to the attention of 
the proper authorities, and it is probable that he will be 
restored to liberty as a reward. 

A woman's rescue work. 

Mary McCann, a buxom young Irish girl, 17 years old, 
who has not been long in this country, and who is working 
as a ward-helper on North Brother Island, also distin- 
guished herself in the work of rescue. With more than a 
score of nurses she ran to the water's edge, near the strand- 
ed vessel, and plunging in, swam to the stern of the boat 
and brought ashore a woman whom she found clinging to 
the rudder. She returned three or four times, each time 
rescuing some person. 

Eemarkable was the heroism of Mrs. Allen, a work- 
woman employed on North Brother Island, who leaped 
from the pier and rescued two women, who were struggling 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 51 

in the water. Another woman rescuer was Pauline Puetz, 
a waitress employed on North Brother Island. At the 
risk of her life she saved five children from drowning. 
Miss Puetz made an enviable record at Asbnrj Park as a 
life-saver. 

Miss Lnlu Mc Gibbon, a telephone operator on the isl- 
and, after telephoning the Police Department for assist- 
ance, ran to the beach and helped in the work of rescue and 
resuscitation. Among those she dragged from the water 
alive were two infants, 3 and 6 months old respectively. 

Twenty-four nurses on duty in the hospital on the isl- 
and did creditable work, under the leadership of Mrs. K. 
L. White, the matron. These women waded into tlie river 
up to their necks, and each one of them saved from four 
to six lives. Then, with their clothing dripping wet, and 
in spite of a chilly wind that was sweeping across the 
island, they went to work to resuscitate the half-drowned 
passengers or to assist the doctors in attending to the 
wounded. 

The fireboat Zophar Mills, responding to a call, stopped 
long enough at the 138th street dock to take aboard a squad 
of police and an engine compan}^, and she reached the burn- 
ing steamboat soon after the General Slocum was aground. 
Most of the policemen and firemen promptly jumped over- 
board and began rescuing people from the water. Several 
bodies they took out were lifeless. 

LEAVE PATIENTS FOR THE RESCUE. 

Physicians, nurses and helpers had run from the pavil- 
ions on the island, deserting for the time the patients suf- 
fering from contagious diseases to join in the work of res- 
cue. Several of the women nurses helped save lives by 
running ladders down into the water from a stone pier. 



52 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

Many acts of bravery and self-sacrifice were recorded. 
One girl, scarcely more than a child, rescued a baby. The 
lieroine was Louise Galling, 12 years old, of Nutley, N. J. 
She had gone on the excursion with Mrs. Gertrude Erkling, 
and in the excitement following the discovery of fire had 
become separated from Mrs. Erkling and left with the 
latter's 2-year-old baby in her arms on the hurricane deck. 
The little girl did not lose her presence of mind, nothwith- 
standing the fearful scenes that were being enacted before 
her. She managed to get possession of a life preserver, 
which, unaided, she adjusted about her body; then, with 
the baby in her arms, she went to the extreme end of 
the boat and waited as long as she could before plunging 
into the river. Finally the flames and smoke were swirling 
^bout her and she leaped over the rail into the water twenty 
feet below. As she disappeared beneath the surface she 
clung tightly to her infant charge, and still had the baby 
in her arms when she arose again. Beside her, struggling 
in the water, was a man in uniform, one of the officers 
of the steamer. He told her to place one arm about him, 
that he would hold her up until help came. She obeyed, 
but still clung to her helpless little friend. In about five 
minutes they were picked up by somebody in a rowboat and 
taken ashore. The brave little girl and the baby whose life 
she had saved were treated in one of the hospital wards 
on North Brother Island. 

Another instance of childish heroism was that of Lucy 
Hencken, a fifteen-year-old girl, of No. 162 South Second 
street, Brooklyn. She was with her mother, Mrs. Lucy 
Hencken, and her brother Charles, 19 years old. When 
the fire started she took her mother to the hurricane deck, 
believing that to be the safest place, and, leaving her there, 
went in search of her brother. On her way downstairs she 
found three babies lying on the floor at the foot of the 



> 



CO ^^ 

02 




^ .-5iK •^, - 





t^ 




THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 55 

companionway and in danger of being trampled on by the 
people who were running around on the maia. deck. She 
carried the babies one by one to her mother, in whose charge 
she placed them, while she again went in search of her 
brother, whom she saw in the midst of an excited crowd 
of people on the main deck. Before she could reach him 
a cloud of smoke, pierced by flame, intervened, and she 
was forced to retreat to the upper deck. When she got 
there she could not find her mother or the three babies, and, 
being unable to stay any longer on the burning boat, she 
jumped overboard. She was rescued by William Major, 
of the tugboat Theo. 

LAWNS LIKE A BATTLEFIELD. 

The lawns on the north shore of N'orth Brother Island 
soon looked like a battlefield after a battle. They were 
nearly covered with bodies which were taken from the 
water, and with persons w^ho had been rescued and were 
being prepared for removal to the hospitals. 

Health Commissioner Darlington called all the physi- 
cians of the Health Department available to the island, 
and kept them at work there the rest of the day. More 
than three hundred police were sent to the island to work 
under the direction of Inspector Albertson. Coroners 
O'Gorman and Scholer soon began the task of examining 
the bodies removed from the water. As rapidly as possible 
the persons who were to be sent to hospitals were removed 
in boats. 

While the work of rescue was still in progress, the burn- 
ing General Slocum was raised by the tide until she floated 
from the rocks and began to drift in the direction of Hiker's 
Island. Several of the boats which were engaged in rescue 
work followed her until she sank, oft Hunt's Point. Be- 



56 THE GENEEAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 

fore she went down the rescuers could see many charred 
bodies of women and children who had been burned to 
death. 

Captain Van Schaick and his pilot jumped overboard as 
soon as the General Slocum grounded. Both were burned 
severely before they jumped, but they were able to get 
ashore. Most of the members of the crew had jumped 
overboard sooner. There v/as a report that the engineer 
had been burned at his post of duty, but it was learned 
later that he had jumped overboard and had been rescued. 

Peter Jensen, who owns a naphtha launch, was coming 
out of Little Hell Gate to the East Eiver when the blazing 
Slocum passed that point on her way east. Jensen followed 
with his launch, and the moment he was able he ran her 
up to the starboard paddle-box and snatched from certain 
death a little girl and two little boys. Although burned 
himself while making this rescue, he ran his boat to the 
beach, landed the children, and then, dropping fiat on 
his face on top of the seawall, pulled forty persons out of 
the water. 

AN" UNKNOWN HERO. 

A man, whose identity could not be learned, showed him- 
self to be a hero. He was seen on the starboard paddle- 
box of the General Slocum, surrounded by a group of 
women and children. Tug No. 7, of the N"ew York Cen- 
tral Kailroad, braving the smoke and flames, ran up along- 
side the burning steamer, and the man on the paddle-box 
passed the women and children down to the crew of the tug. 
The clothing of some of the passengers was burning, and 
the hero's own garments were on fire by the time he had 
handed the last person to safety. He was then forced to 
jump into the river and swim ashore. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 57 



SWIFT RECOVERY OF BODIES. 

Many small boats were manned by the police after the 
General Slocum drifted away from the shore, and the task 
of dragging for bodies was begun. In the afternoon the 
recovery of bodies was rapid. For two hours at one time 
in the afternoon the bodies were being recovered at the 
rate of one a minute. 

Of the bodies recovered before noon 37 were taken to the 
police station at Alexander avenue and 138th street, about 
which large crowds gathered. Later, the Charities boat 
carried two loads to the morgue at Twenty-sixth street. 

When 130 bodies had been carried to the morgue and 
Coroner 0' Gorman was told that no more could be accom- 
modated there, he turned an old coalshed on North Brother 
Island into an impromptu morgue, being aided by Dr. 
Darlington. 

On a platform over blocks of ice were placed as many 
of the bodies as could be accommodated. It was first de- 
cided that relatives desiring to identify their friends would 
be allowed to come on.the island for this purpose, but when 
the impromptu morgue became crowded, and more than 
two hundred bodies were still on the lawns, it was arranged 
that the bodies should be taken to the East Twenty-sixth 
street pier, where another large morgue had been impro- 
vised. To facilitate the work of removing bodies at night. 
Police Commissioner McAdoo, who went to the island, bor- 
rowed yome cluster lights from the Metropolitan Street 
Eailway Company. These were to be placed on the lawns 
where the bodies lay. Mr. McAdoo also made arrange- 
ments to have the bodies of the dead photographed. 

At a late hour in the afternoon it was found that over 
three hundred bodies had been taken ashore at North Broth- 



58 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

er Island, and were still being recovered at the rate of one 
a minute. The lawns on the north side of the island 
seemed covered with bodies, most of which were those of 
women and children, and some of them charred beyond 
recognition. One girl, about 16 years old, clasped tightly 
in her clenched hands the body of a child apparently six 
months old. Presumably they were sisters. 

OFFICERS OF THE SLOCUM ARRESTED. 

Seven men, including all the officers saved from the 
General Slocum, were placed under arrest as soon as the 
police found them, and as they were all more or less injured, 
either by burns or shock, they were sent to the Lebanon 
Hospital as prisoners. They were Capt. William H. Van 
Schaick, 60 years old, who said he lived on the steamer; 
First Pilot Edward Van Wart, 64 years old, of No. 331 
West Twenty-first street; Second Pilot Edwin N. Weaver, 
26 years old, who lived on the steamer; William W. Tremb- 
ley, 33 years old, of California, who lived on the boat; 
Henry Canfield, 46 years old, of No. 421 Tenth avenue, a 
cook on the boat; Edwin Eobinson, 19, also a cook, of No. 
414 West 39th street, and James Woods, 45 years old, a 
cook, of No. 337 Ninth avenue. 

The officers missing are Michael McGrann, Steward; 
Edward Flanagan, Mate, and B. F. Conklin, Engineer. 



THil crilNEKAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 59 



CHAPTER IV. 

SCENES AND INCIDENTS BY ANOTHER WRITER — SCENES OF 
HORROR WHEN STEAMER BURNED. 

It was a spectacle of horror beyond words to express — a 
great vessel all in flames, sweeping forward in the sunlight, 
within sight of the crowded city, while her helpless, scream- 
ing hundreds were roasted alive or swallowed up in the 
waves — ^women and children with their hair and clothing 
on fire; crazed mothers casting their babies overboard or 
leaping with them to certain death; wailing children and 
old men trampled under foot or crowded over into the 
water — and the burning steamboat, her whistle roaring for 
assistance, speeding on for the shore of North Brother 
Island with a trail of ghastly faces and clutching hands 
in the tide behind her — grayhaired mothers and tender in- 
fants going down to death together. 

The captain of the steamer has been arrested; there are 
stories of rotten life preservers and of life preservers placed 
out of reach; of the failure of the crew to fight the fire; 
and of the captain's mistake in not heading for the nearest 
land. But few know exactly what happened in that terri- 
ble scene of suffering and death, for many of the sur- 
vivors are practically insane, and hundreds of others are 
in the hospitals. 

EXCURSIONISTS THRONG TO STEAMER. 

It was a few minutes before 10 a. m. when the General 
Slocum left the recreation pier at the foot of East Third 



60 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

street, with the Sunday School scholars and members of 
the congregation of St. Mark's German Lutheran Church, 
on Sixth street, between First and Second avenues. The 
excursionists belonged to the respectable German-Ameri- 
can families of the East Side. 

Hundreds of them had met near the church earlier in 
the morning, and with the Eev. George C. F. Haas, the 
pastor of St. Mark's, at their head, had marched to the 
pier, the children waving flags and the mothers carrying 
lunch baskets full of good things. The band was on the 
after-deck of the boat playing merry tunes, and from every 
flagstaff on the General Slocum streamed gay-colored 
bunting. The sun shone brightly, and the crisp, cool air 
gave a splendid promise of a happy day for the church 
people. 

NINE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-TWO TICKETS WERE SOLD. 

Wh.en the lines were at last cast off and the go-ahead bell 
Tang in the engine-room, one of the deck hands went up 
to the pilot-house and reported to the captain, William Van 
Schaick, that 98.3 tickets had been taken in at the gang 
plank. This represented the adult passengers and the chil- 
dren over nine and ten years of age. In addition to these, 
it was estimated that there were about 300 babies and young 
children who did not require tickets. There were also on 
board the ship's regular crew of 23 men, the employees of 
the caterer, numbering about 15 men, and the members of 
the band, numbering 10. In all, it was estimated that 
there were almost 1,500 people on the boat. 

When the boat reached a point opposite Ninety-seventh 
street several of the crew who were on the lower deck saw 
puffs of smoke coming through the seams in the flooring 
immediately above what is called the second cabin. The 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 61 

forward part of the hold of the General Slocum was divided 
in this way : In the extreme bow was the forecastle. Im- 
mediately aft the forecastle is what is called a second cabin. 
In the second cabin was a dynamo, the electric appliances 
and a number of stores, including the ship's lamps and the 
oil used to fill them. Nobody was in the second cabin, so 
far as could be learned, when the fire started. The negro 
porter, Walter Payne, who had charge of the lamps, said 
that he had attended to the lamps early in the morning, and 
that he was confident nobody was in the second cabin. 

PASSENGERS ON UPPER DECKS. 

Nearly all of the excursionists were on the two upper 
decks at the time the first puffs of smoke were seen. The 
band had taken up a position on the middle deck, and most 
of the excursionists were sitting around it. A large num- 
ber of the children were on the top, or hurricane deck. 
There were two policemen on the boat who had been de- 
tailed to take care of the crowd — Charles Kelk and Abel 
E. Van Tassel, both of the Forty-second, or Harbor Police 
Precinct. 

A few minutes after the boat had left the dock a num- 
ber of the children began to romp on the hurricane deck, 
and one of the boat's crew asked Patrolman Kelk to go up 
there and keep them in order. Van Tassel remained on 
the lower deck. It was just 10.10 a. m. when the first 
puffs of smoke were seen. 

For some reason the fact was not communicated imme- 
diately to Captain Van Schaick. Some of the deck hands- 
went below and ran into the second cabin, believing they 
could easily extinguish the fire. They found the place a 
furnace. 

Some of the deadlights had been left open and through 



62 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

these the wind had fanned an insignificant fire into a blaze 
that could not be conquered. When the deck hands rushed 
up and told Mate Edward Flanagan of the blaze below, he 
directed that the fire apparatus of the General Slocum be 
put into working order. Word was also sent to Captain 
Van Schaick. 

FLAMES EAT THROUGH DECK. 

In the pilot-house with the captain at the time was the 
chief pilot; Edward Van Wart; the second pilot, Edwin 
Weaver, was walking about the deck, and the chief engin- 
eer, Conklin, was below. Before anything effective could 
be done with the fire apparatus the flames had eaten their 
way through the flooring of the main deck and the smoke 
began to ascend in great clouds. By this time the boat 
was well above Ward's Island. 

Why Captain Van Schaick did not at once head the Gen- 
eral Slocum toward some of the docks on either the New 
York or the Long Island shores has not yet been explained. 
He signaled to Conklin to go ahead at full speed and 
pointed her bow toward North Brother Island, wliich was a 
good mile ahead of him. The wind was blowing from the 
north, and the swift progress of the steamboat caused a 
strong current of air, which drove the flames aft into the 
faces of the passengers. 

At the first cry of fire the excursionists became panic- 
stricken. All of those on the lower deck fled to the middle 
deck and then to the hurricane deck. Mothers ran about 
the boat to find their little children and get them to a place 
of supposed safety. The crew for a time did nothing but 
fight the fire, which engaged all of their attention. Within 
a few minutes nearly every one of the excursionists was 
crowded on the aft part of the second deck and the aft 
part of the hurricane deck. The band made a feeble effort 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 63 

to allay the panic by playing popular airs, but the musicians 
soon became choked with the smoke and were forced to 
give up the attempt. 

MANY LIFE PRESERVERS USELESS. 

There the scene was one of terrible confusion. Shrieking 
women, with little children clustering about them, were 
trying to get life preservers and fasten them upon their 
little ones. The men on the boat did their best to help 
with the life preservers. These, however, proved in a 
majority of instances to be death traps. Most of the life 
preservers were so old that their canvas covering was rotten 
and their fastenings wortliless. 

Jacob Miller, an officer of the Sunday School, tried seven 
different life preservers before he found one whose fastening 
did not crumble and break when he put it about a mother 
of several small children. Other passengers had the same 
experience. 

Wlien the boat had reached a point opposite 132d street 
the flames were shooting up eight and ten feet at the bow of 
the vessel, and the heat was so great that everybody was 
pushing and fighting to get as far aft as possible. 

Little children were thrown down and trampled upon in 
the terrific crush. Mothers, with three and four small 
children to care for, were helpless. Policeman Kelk, com- 
ing on the deck, did everything possible to restrain the 
panic, but his efforts were in vain. Van Tassel went up 
on the second deck and tried to calm the people there, but 
his work was useless. 

Men working along the docks on both the New York and 
Long Island shores saw the flame-swept boat with its crowd 
of shrieking passengers steaming up the river. Alarms 
were sent in to Police Headquarters and Fire Headquarters 



64 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

from many sources. Tugs, launclies and other boats put 
after the steamer, but she left them far astern. 

There were some few passengers who had taken seats in 
the extreme bow of the boat when she left her pier, and 
these were shut off from the stern by a barrier of 
flame. The fire was burning aft all the time. The heat 
became terrific, and those in the bow, hemmed in, were in 
a hopeless condition. 

LEAPED FROM THE STEAMER'S BOW. 

Just as the boat was opposite 133d street a man whose 
face was fearfully scorched and whose clothing was smok- 
ing jumped over the portside, and a minute later shrieked 
as the big paddle-wheel caught and mangled him. 

The fate of this man did not deter others from following 
his example. By two and threes the unfortunates penned 
in at the bow climbed over the side and leaped into the 
river. 

Not one of these unfortunates, so far as could be learned, 
escaped death. All, it is believed, were caught in the pad- 
dle-wheels and killed. Later in the afternoon the bodies 
of a number of the excursionists were washed ashore oppo- 
site the point at which they had jumped overboard. 

One boy about twelve years old, who had been in the 
crowd penned up in the bow, climbed the long flagstaff at j 
the bow of the boat. He hung there notwithstanding the « 
intense heat until the Slocum was finally beached, only to 
drop into the furnace below him when rescuers were near 
at hand. 

When the boat was opposite 140th street, the flames had 
reached amidships, and the hundreds massed together were 
literally being baked to death, so fearful was the heat. 
Men, women and children had climbed over the guard rails 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 65 

and were hanging on, their feet resting on the inch or two 
of deck that protruded beyond the rails. 

STEAMER^S RAIL GIVES WAT. 

I 

Suddenly there was a terrific crash and the rail of the j 
middle deck gave way under the pressure of the panic- 
stricken throng. Those on the outside were thrown into 
the water, and many close to the rail were forced overboard.. 
Nearly all of these unfortunates were never seen again after 
they struck the water. 

The fleet of tugboats and launches chasing the Slocunoc 
stopped to pick up those who were still afloat, but not one 
in ten was saved. 

The ferryboat, Bronx, which runs to North Beach from 
133d street, passed within 200 yards of the burning boat., 
The unfortunates on the Slocum screamed and shouted, 
but the Bronx never changed her course. Even had she 
done so, the slow-moving ferryboat could not have caught 
up with the steamer. 

From that point on women and children dropped from) 
the Slocum in pitiful little clusters of three, four and five 
at a time. Eowboats put out from the New York shore,, 
but long before they reached the course of the Slocum these 
"unfortunates had disappeared under the surface. 

From North Brother Island the burning Slocum was ^ 
sighted when she was down opposite 132d street, and the I 
people on the island thought her captain would beach her 
on the westerly shore. Dr. Samuel Watson, who is in 
charge on the island, and his assistant. Dr. Cannon, were 
notified of the coming of the steamer by the engineer, Jo- 
seph Gaffney. George Doorley, superintendent of the island^, 
was ordered to get the fire apparatus in working order. 

There are 164 persons employed on the island, of whoni' 



j66. THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

35 are nurses and six are doctors. Dr. Watson placed 
monitors at the doors of buildings where victims of con- 
tagious diseases are confined to keep the patients quiet. 
Practically every other person but these monitors was sent 
'^ver to the westerly shore. 

EVERY WHISTLE TOOTS AN ALARM. 

Lines of hose were run out and the engines started to 
pump water through them. The fire whistle on the island 
was blown to notify those on shore to summon help. Every 
factory along the water front on both shores and every 
steamboat in the river tooted its whistle continuously as an 
alarm. 

At the stern of the Slocum were the Department of Cor- 
rection boat Massasoit;, the tugs Wade, Theo, William H. 
Gautier, Wheeler, Tracy and Sumner, the steam launch 
Mosquito, and the 'New York, New Haven and Hartford 
tug No. Itt. The Wade had been lying at tlie pier at North 
Brother Island, and her captain, John L. Wade, had headed 
into the stream the minute he saw the flame-swept boat 
approaching. The Franklin Edson, the Health Depart- 
ment boat, also followed the Slocum. 

It was just 10.20 A. M. when the Slocum was beached at 
North Brother Island. She struck just a few yards north 
of the scarlet fever ward and close to the little chapel wliicli 
is jointly used by the Eoman Catholic and Protestant Epis- 
copal churches. When she struck, the bow was in about 
four feet of water, but her stern, where all the unfortunates 
were, was in thirty feet of water. 

Captain Van Schaick and Pilot Van Wart were in the 
pilot-house when she was beached. They had remained at 
their posts at the wheel, though the pilot-house was just 
above the hottest part of the ship, and the flames were shoot- 
ing up all around them. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 67 

The instant the boat struck half of the passengers, think- 
ing they were in shallow water, jumped overboard. Scores 
of them never came to the surface again. 

HURRICANE DECK FALLS. 

When the boat was beached the most terrible catastro- 
phe of all happened. The stanchion supporting the hurri- 
cane deck gave way under the great weight of the people 
above and the whole top deck collapsed, hurling hundreds 
downward. Scores of these fell into the midst of the 
roaring furnace and were never heard of again. Some were 
thrown outward by the collapse and fell into the water. 

How many met death by being thrown into the fire by 
the collapse of the deck will perhaps never be laiown. Many 
of them must have burned in an instant, and as the boat 
later sank it is doubtful if what was left of them bv the 
flames will ever be recovered. 

Brave men on the shore and on the boats which speedily 
came to the rescue jumped into the water, and then be- 
gan the battle to save the drowning. Dozens of those who 
jumped from the Slocum and who could swim or were 
helped by other swimmers reached the big paddle-wheels. 
There they fought for a few inches of space on the blades 
where they might cling until rescuers could reach them. 
Others clung to camp-stools and to debris thrown out by 
the nurses, doctors and the attendants on the shore. Those 
on the surrounding tugboats or launches threw over life 
preservers, long ropes and lifeboats. Long ladders were 
pushed out from the shore and many who caught the rungs 
of these were saved. 

FEARFUL STRUGGLE IN WATER. 

The men who jumped overboard from the rescuing boats 
had fearful experiences. Each one was seized by several 
women and children, and but for the help of their com- 



68 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

xades would have been drowned. The heat was so terrific 
that none of the boats could run np alongside the Slocnm. 
Those on shore were also handicapped by the heat. The 
tugboat William H. Gantier turned its fire hose on the 
Slocum, but this and the lines of hose from the island 
made no impression whatever on the flames. Within two 
minutes after the Slocum had been beached she was a 
mass of flames from stem to stern. The columns of water 
thrown from the hose lines had no effect. 

The boats Franklin Edson and the Wade pushed up closer 
to the Slocum than any of the others and maintained their 
positions imtil all of the paint on their deck-houses had 
been scorched and the boats themselves began to burn. 
Edward McCarroll, fireman of the Wade, was one of the 
first to go overboard. He grabbed a girl about 19 years 
old, passed her along to a man with a boat-hook, who 
pulled her up on deck. Then he seized two little children 
and* passed them to the same man. 

While he was trying to save an old woman five or six 
others of the unfortunates grabbed him. One of the women 
had him by the throat and McCarroll was carried down. 
He managed to free himself and came to the surface. He 
shoved the nearest woman toward the man with the boat- 
hook and then managed to get on deck himself. He was 
completely exhausted by the exertion. The woman he 
had rescued saw her 12-year-old son struggling in the 
water a few yards away, and running up to McCarroll she 
gave him a shove, crying out: 
"You must save my boy!" 

HERO WAS ALMOST EXHAUSTED. 

The shove sent McCarroll reeling backward into the 
water. He grabbed the boy, managed to get him alongside 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 69 

of the Wade and was sinking from exhaustion when Capt. 
Wade jabbed the boat-hook into his clothing and held him 
Tip until he could be hauled on board. The heroism of 
McCarroll was duplicated by fully twenty of the hardy tug- 
boatmen. 

Mate James Duane of the Massasoit launched a lifeboat 
and in the first trip saved seven women and dragged out 
eight more who could not be resuscitated and died on the 
beach. Policemen who had put over from the New York 
shore to North Brother Island in small boats rowed around 
the burning steamer and pulled in people — alive and dead 
— by the dozen. 

The tugboats would dart in and shave the side of the 
Slocum for a minute or two to give those who were still 
clinging to the side a chance to jump on board. Some of 
those who jumped landed on the boat and others landed in 
the water. 

Scores of people who might otherwise have been saved 
were dragged down by frantic friends or strangers. A 
powerful swimmer in that fearful, fighting crush of women 
and children was almost as helpless as those who could 
not swim. 

The nurses from the different wards on the islands did 
valiant work. Several of them who could swim plunged 
into the water and pulled out little children. Fully half 
of those who were rescued were unconscious when dragged 
up on the beach. Heroic measures were at once taken by 
the doctors, nurses and attendants to resuscitate the uncon- 
scious ones. Many were suffering from cuts, wounds and 
burns. These were rushed up to the big green lawn in 
front of the hospital and their hurts hurriedly dressed. 
Blankets were spread all over the lawn and in ten minutes 
the scene it presented was appalling. 



70 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTEK. 



LAST OF THE LIVING RESCUED. 

Some of the tugboats took so manj^ people on board that 
they were in danger of being swamped. To make a land- 
ing it was necessary for these boats to steam around to the 
dock, abont a quarter of a mile away. There a corps of 
attencfants met each boat-load with a stack of stretchers and 
carried the people, dead and alive, np to the lawn. Within 
ten minutes after the boat had struck the last of the living 
had been rescued. 

Then came the task of recovering the dead. Within an 
hour 150 of the victims, nine-tenths of them women, were 
stretched out on the beach. Some of them were carried up 
on top of the bank and laid in the long grass near the 
little chapel, but most of them had to be left in the sand 
just at the Vvater's edge. 

One woman who was taken out of the water held a baby 
tightly clutched in her arms. There was a satchel or small 
handbag attached to her waist, and in it were some papers 
bearing the name, "Miss Eohme.'^ The baby was tenderly 
taken out of her arms and laid on the grass beside her. 

MANY WOMEN WOKE JEWELRY. 

Many of the dead women wore costly jewelry. Scores 
of small boats had eome over from the New York shore, 
and to prevent thieving Dr. Watson stationed a number of 
attendants to guard the dead. A big man was seen to 
stoop down and try to unchain a gold watch from the 
waist of a dead woman. A couple of the attendants started 
for him and he ran away witliout the booty. In the ex- 
citement he managed to escape. 

In a very short time the fireboat Zophar Mills, the police 




JUMPING FROM THE BOAT. 



71 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 73 

"boat Patrol and later on other fireboats arrived and pro- 
ceeded to pump tons of water into the burning wreck. It 
was found impossible to quench the flames and the fire- 
boats pushed her into deep water, where the strong ebb 
tide carried the Slocum slowly up to a point about two 
miles away, where she stranded between Riker's Island and . 
Hunt's point. An hour later she keeled over so that only 
her upper works, smokestack and skeleton of the pilot- 
house remained above the water. 

Policemen from every precinct in the Bronx, nurses and 
doctors from every hospital in the city north of Twenty- ; 
third street were rushed to North Brother Island. By the 
time that many of the nurses arrived there was nothing 
for them to do. Inspector Elbertson took charge of the 
police arrangements. Health Commissioner Darlington 
arrived on the scene very early and directed the work of 
nurses and physicians. Coroner 0' Gorman, with a staff 
of assistants, took charge of the investigation as to the 
cause of the catastrophe, being aided by Coroners Scholer 
and Goldenkranz. 

WHOLE BOAT-LOADS OF INJURED. 

Under the direction of Mrs. Kate White, matron at 
North Brother Island, and Miss O'Donnell, the assistant 
matron, the injured and survivors were quickly cared for. \ 
As soon as the survivors were able to be moved they were ' 
put on board the Massasoit or the Franklin Edson and 
taken over to the pier at the foot of 138th street. These 
boat-loads of people presented a pathetic spectacle. 

Nearly all of them were more or less scorched or burned. 
They were all dripping wet. Little children of 3, 4 and 5 
years bereft of mothers, fathers and all other relatives 
weie landed at the pier dazed and alone. These little ones 



74 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

were tenderly eared for by the police. They were pnt irt 
patrol wagons, grocery wagons, ambulances and other ve- 

;^. hides and hurried over to the hospitals or station houses. 
On some of these first trips the boats brought over a num- 

-f ber of dead. These were taken to the Alexander Avenue 

i j Police Station. 

* As soon as tlie immensity of the disaster was appreciated 
by the officials it was decided not to send any more of the 
dead over to the 138th street pier, but to remove them to 
the Morgue. 

It was several hours before tlie last of the survivors were 
able to leave the island. As many of these as could be ac- 
commodated with changes of clothing were given pajamas 
or night dresses, and in these they lay on the lawn cov- 
ered up in blankets until their own clothing had been 
dried. 

Some of those who were in a serious condition were 
placed on one of the Health Department boats and carried 
down to Bellevue Hospital. All of the buildings on North 
Brother Island are used for contagious diseases, and it was 
not deemed advisable to keep any of the injured ones there 
longer than was necessary. 

MORE CORPSES TOWED IN. 

After the steamer had been towed away and the search 
for more bodies had continued for a couple of hours with- 
out results, it was the hope of the officials that the list of 
dead would not exceed 200 or 250 at the outside. Later it 
was learned, however, that there was a number of dead still 
in the wreck, and these fears were verified when small boats 
began to arrive at the N'orth Brother Island pier, each tow- 
ing five or six blackened corpses astern. 

The full scope of the disaster, however, was not known 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 75 

until the tide began to fall late in the afternoon. Then 
the receding water uncovered the dead at the place where 
the Slocum had been beached. 

In a single hour between 4 :30 and 5 :30 p. m. fifty bodies 
were recovered, nearly all those of women and children. 
In the succeeding hour the work of recovering the dead 
proceeded at even a faster rate. 

Scores of small boats were pressed into service, and po- 
licemen and others brought bodies to the shore with terri- 
fying rapidity. Police Commissioner McAdoo directed that 
the work be continued all night without cessation, and sent 
for the Patrol and other boats fitted with electric search- 
lights, to illuminate the scene. 

Photographers were also sent for to photograph the dead 
so that their relatives might identify them. The elaborate 
precautions taken during the day to make identification 
possible were continued during the night under the direc- 
tion of Coroner O'Gorman and a staff of 100 volunteers. 

DEOWN'ED WOMAN HAD FORTUNE. 

At 10 P. M. Coroner 0' Gorman said that upward of 
$200,000 in money and jewelry had been taken from the 
bodies. On the body of Mrs. Eva Eingler there was found 
$30,000 in bank notes, securities and bank books. 

All of the property was taken to the coroner's office, at 
177th street and Third avenue, and exhibited for identifi- 
cation. It was hoped that the greater number of bodies 
would be identified through those envelopes. The property 
was turned over to those who proved to the satisfaction 
of Coroner 0' Gorman that they had a rightful claim to it. 

At 3 p. M. two boat-loads of the dead were sent to the 
Morgue. On the Fidelity there v/ere fifty bodies and on the 
Massasoit eighty. These bodies exhausted the capacity of 



,76 THE GEKERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

the Morgue. The Morgue superintendent telephoned Mr. 
Darlington that he would be unable to care for any more 
bodies, and it was planned to establish a temporary morgue 
on North Brother Island. This was abandoned as not 
feasible, because it would require relatives of the dead to 
make trips to both North Brother Island and the city 
morgue, at the foot of East Twenty-sixth street. It was 
finally decided to establish a temporary morgue adjoining 
the City Morgue and all the bodies were taken there. 

GIRL COMES TO LIFE IN MORGUE. 

One of the marvels of the disaster was the coming to life 
of 15-year-old Clara Hartman, of 309 East Ninth street, 
after she had been picked up burned and apparently 
drowned, and towed in tlie rear of a launch from the side 
of the wreck of the Slocum to the shore of Manhattan. 

Wrapped in a tarpaulin sheet the seemingly lifeless body 
of the young girl was placed with a row of twenty-nine dead 
in the Alexander Avenue Station. 

Fully three hours had elapsed from the time of the fire 
to the hour when the seemingly lifeless body was conveyed 
to the station house, and another hour passed before the 
startling discovery was made that the young girl still 
lived. 

The revelation caused consternation among the witnesses, 
who included police officials and reporters, surgeons and 
matrons, who were engaged in their various duties in the 
station house. 

It was a strange woman, who had volunteered her serv- 
ices in aiding the police to obtain identifying marks of 
the women dead, who made the startling discovery, and her 
presence, every one said after the remarkable development, 
was regarded by those present as an inspiration. 

Had this particular woman not happened on the scene at 



, THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 77 

the particular moment, Clara Hartman would have been 
placed in the dead wagon and carried to the Morgue, with 
an attendant coterie of a score of corpses. 

Selecting the women dead for her inspection, the un- 
known woman had examined several, when she came to the 
form of the young woman wrapped in the tarpaulin with 
which some tender-hearted person had enveloped her body. 
Unwrapping the folds of the death-sheet the unlvnown 
woman began to take an inventory of the seemingly dead 
woman's effects, clothing and physical description. 

There was something in the appearance of the body 
which caused the examiner to pause, she afterward said. 
Although she entertained not the slightest idea that life 
still existed, she hesitated over the body. Undoing the cor- 
set at the front, and making a minute examination, of the 
underclothing, the woman started up with the exclama- 
tion, ^This girl is alive l" 

^^hurry! she's alive!'' 

"Be quick!" she almost commanded, indicating a sur- 
geon, who stood with the rest, paralyzed. "Hurry ! This 
girl is alive !" 

In an instant not one, but three surgeons were at work 
over the apparently dead form, and with their efforts un- 
mistakable evidence of life was observed. Presently the girl 
gave a deep breath ; then came the regular breathing — long 
and heavy ; and when Miss Hartman had been carried to a 
comfortable couch fashioned by blankets, she opened her 
eyes, restored to consciousness. No hysteria accompanied 
her return to her senses. She gazed into the faces of those 
surrounding her, and then faintly raised her voice. She 
said something not quite audible to those nearest her and 
then she closed her eyes. 

Another examination by the doctors convinced them 



78 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 



that there was every chance of saving the young girl's life,, 
and she was hurriedly but tenderly taken to Lincoln Hos- 
pital. When she was being carried to the ambulance one 
of the doctors supervising her removal said : "I don't think 
this tag need remain any longer on this remarkable young 
child's person/' and stripping the tag off with his knife, 
handed it to the sergeant. It was the tag indicating young 
Clara Hartman's number in the line of dead resting then 
in the improvised station house morgue. 



THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 79. 



CHAPTER V. I 

DIVERS BEGIN" SEARCH FOR BODIES IN THE SUNKEN STEAM- 
BOAT. 

As the General Slocum slid off the beach at North Broth- 
er Island, there was not a vestige of life aboard her. But 
around her, in her paddle-wheels and upon her upper deck 
were a number of bodies, how many will not be known, 
until the charred and twisted hulk, which now lies upon 
the bottom of the river off Hunt's Point, is pulled to pieces 
by wreckers. At least seventy people are believed to have 
been caught when the hurricane deck fell like a great lid 
upon the frantic people crowding the deck below. 

As the vessel's stern swung clear of the rocks and mud 
of the beach a dozen tugs fastened their lines to her and 
began towing her into the channel. There was no attempt 
to take her to a berth, but she was dragged along crab- 
fashion, sometimes stern-on and sometimes bow-on, as she 
was hurried up the river toward Eiker's Island, off which it 
was determined to beach her. Her port paddle-box was 
ablaze, her upper decks supports w^ere a line of fire, while 
smoke and flames belched from every window and opening ^ 
along her sides. 

With her ghastly freight, the Slocum was pulled slowly 
and carefully to a place where she would sink and where 
she could be thoroughly searched. The almost numberless 
streams of water that had been poured into her hold made 
her stagger like a waterlogged hulk, and she reeled along in 
the wake of her towing tugs, settling all the time. 



80 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

It was seen that she would not stay afloat much longer, 
and the plan to beach her ofl Riker's Island was aban- 
doned. The course of the tugs was changed, and the Slo- 
cum was headed for Hunt's Point, where there are few 
buildings and where a good bottom could be found. With- 
in about 250 feet of the shore the vessel, which was then 
little more than a shell above the water, lurched heavily 
forward, then careened on her port side, settling slowly un- 
der water. The brace-rod which runs from stem to stern, 
her smoke-stacks, her starboard paddle-box and a few bits 
of her hurricane deck protrude from the water at high tide. 

She had hardly touched the bottom, her two stacks at an 
angle of 45 degrees pointing down the channel, when the 
work of searching for the dead on board of her began. 
The Merritt & Chapman wrecking tug, William E. Chap- 
man, had assisted in towing the Slocum to the place where 
she sank, and they had a crew aboard of the wreck almost as 
soon as the eddies had finished circling about it. 

Captain Burfeind had a force of men on the scene, and 
the auxiliary yacht, owned by the department, was anchored 
close by to render any assistance possible. One of the as- 
sistants of Mr. Haas, in a steam launch, with a dozen nurses 
were also at the side of the wreck. The reverend gentle- 
man stood at the bow of the boat with a boathook in his 
hand to take a practical part in the work of rescue, if any 
should be alive. 

SEVEN BODIES SOON FOUND. 

The Slocum sank at 12.20 and by 1 o'clock seven bodies 
had been taken from her. These were found in the star- 
board paddle-box, the only place where the rescuers could 
work until the divers could go below to tear off the hurri- 
cane deck. The bodies that were recovered from the pad- 
dle-box were wedged into the paddles of the great wheel. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUJM DISASTER. 81 

Some of them were burned beyond recognition and some of 
them were crushed. x\s far as could be determined the 
bodies were those of women. One poor remnant of hu- 
manit}^ twisted beyond all semblance of recognition, had a 
wedding-ring on her finger, and, strange to say, this was 
the only finger on that hand that had not been burned to a 
small, blackened stump. 

At nightfall enough of the side supports of the paddle- 
box had been torn away to disclose five other bodies wedged 
in close to its curving top. 

Diver John Eice, who figured in the Boonton catastrophe, 
in which Diver Oleson lost his life, and three other divers 
emploA'ed by the city arrived at the scene on the Naval 
Eeserve launch Oneida at 6 o'clock. 

They went at once to the wreck and began the work of 
disengaging the bodies entangled in the wreckage. As the 
bodies were brought to the surface they were taken by men 
waiting in boats and carried to tugs, from which they were 
put on shore at North Brother Island. 

Eoundsmen Klute and Giloon and Policemen George 
Mott, Murphy, Skelly, Grey and Healey, of the Harbor 
Squad, went to the scene in a police launch, and worked 
steadily all afternoon. At 7 p. m., when these men had 
taken 217 bodies from the water, they fell from sheer ex- 
haustion and were forced to go ashore and leave the work 
to others. 

Diver Eice and his assistants were forced to stop work 
because of exliaustion at 11 o'clock, but resumed again in 
the morning. In the forward cabin of the sunken ship 
they found ten bodies, those of four boys and six adults. 
All of the bodies were burned beyond recognition. The 
wrecking tug continued after the divers had left. The 
work was in the center and stern of the boat. It was in the 
.stern that the greatest number of bodies were found. 



82 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

"made best landing I COULD/' SAYS CAPTAIN, UNDER 

ARREST. 

Captain William H. Van Schaick, who has been in com- j 
mand of the General Slocnm almost continuously since she ; 
went into commission, escaped by jumping into the river 
and swimming ashore. He was taken to the Alexander 
Avenue Station from North Brother Island and placed 
under arrest, with five members of his crew. Captain Van 
Schaick made a statement to Coroner Berry, in which he 
said : 

"We left the foot of East Twenty-third street about 9.30 
o'clock. It was reported to me that 982 tickets for adults 
had been taken in at the gangways. This does not include 
children who came aboard, or passengers who paid their 
fare at the gangwa3^s. I should say there were about 1,40D 
souls aboard when we started on the trip up the river. 

"I took the boat slowly up the river, and we were bearing 
over toward the Sunken Meadows after passing through 
Hell Gate, Avhen I heard shouts of 'fire.' I was in the 
pilot-house at the time. I sounded the alarm for fire drill. 
Fire apparatus was stationed on the boat and the crew had 
been schooled in its use. I saw smoke issuing from the 
companionways forward, and my first thought was that it 
was coming from the boiler-rooms. 

"I sv/ung the boat over toward North Brother Island, 1 
knowing it was the safest and quickest place to land. Ee- 
sponse to the bell in the engine-room showed me that the 
engineer, B. F. Conklin, or some of his assistants, were 
still at their post. A few moments before the boat ground- 
ed in the channel off North Brother Island the flames were 
licking the pilot-house. 

"Followed by my pilots, I ran over the deck and jumped- 



■'j;! 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 83 

into the river. My hat and clothing were burning when I 
jumped. I reckon the time between the first alarm and 
when we grounded at about five minutes. 

DID HIS BEST^ SAID THE CAPTAIN. 

"I floundered in the water and do not know who pulled 
me out as I neared the shore. Someone dragged me up 
under a tree, and it was some time before I was revived, 
I made the quickest and best landing under the circum- 
stances." 

Captain Van Schaick gave his address as the General 
Slocum. He was extremely weak, and Coroner Berry or- 
dered his removal to Lebanon Hospital. 

THE GENERAL SLOCUM AN UNLUCKY CRAFT. 

The General Slocum was one of the best known vessels 
about New York Harbor. Since the time of her launch- 
ing, in 1891, she has been employed in so many different 
capacities, and on so many different runs, that possibly five' 
out of every ten people in New York City have, at some 
time, been aboard of her, or have seen her at close range. 

Built for the Rockaway service as sister ship to the Grand 
Republic, she was kept on that run during most of the days 
of the summer months, and during the thirteen years she 
has been in the service she has carried to that resort almost 
enough people to equal the population of this city. 

As an excursion boat she was easily one of the most 
popular of all the vessels that ply the surrounding waters. 
Her build did not permit of much room for dancing, but 
the younger folks usually found room in a rather small 
space on the main deck for this amusement, while the gen-^ 
eral arrangement of the vessel, with corners and spaces to 



S4: THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

suit every kind and class, gave her great popularity. Dur- 
ing tlie excursion season, which comes before and after the 
Eockaway season, she was employed almost every day by 
excursion parties. 

WAS A YACHT RACE BOAT. 

The General Slocum, too, has followed every interna- 
tional yacht race held off Sandy Hook since the day she was 
built. When she was in her prime and was the finest of 
the harbor craft, great sums were paid for her on the yacht 
courses. Since 1891, however, other vessels have appeared 
which are faster and more suitable to open sea sailing than 
the Slocum, and she has gradually become the poor man's 
transport at the races. Besides serving in these capacities 
she has, every Decoration Day, made a trip to Bridgeport, 
Conn., since 1895, under the auspices of her owners. 
These runs had become quite a fixture, and many of the 
people who went on them boasted that they had been on 
the first one. 

At her launching, everybody was full of praise for Divine 
Burtis, Jr., the boat builder, of Conover street and At- 
lantic Basin, Brooklyn, who built her. The contract for 
her construction was given out on February 15, 1891, and 
on April 18th of the same year, three days more than three 
months later, she was launched. 

As she was the finest vessel in the harbor, and having been 
built in Brooklyn, that city took a pride in her, and turned 
out in a crowd at her launching. Miss May Lewis, the 
niece of the then president of the Knickerbocker Steamboat 
Company, her owners, broke the bottle of wine over her 
bows as she left the ways. 

THE BOATBUILDER^S DREAM. 

When the vessel a short time later made her trial trip 
she was described as the realization of the boatbuilder's 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 85 

dream. She was provided with three watertight compart- 
ments, which was something entirely new then in such 
craft, and she was said to be unsinkable. Her dimensions 
were: length of keel, 235 feet; breadth of hull, 37 feet 
6 inches; depth of hull, 12 feet 3 inches; length of deck;, 
250 feet; breadth of deck, 70 feet. 

Her body was of white oak and yellow pine, and she was 
cf about 1,200 tons. Her engines, which were three of 
the most advanced pattern, were built by the W. & A. 
Fletcher Company, of Hoboken. She was a sidewheel 
boat, each wheel 31 feet in diameter, bearing 26 paddles. 
She had a steam, steering gear of the latest pattern, and was 
lighted by 250 electric lights. She had a speed of about 
18 miles an hour. 

The General Slocum had three decks, the main deck 
provided aft with a comfortable and room}^ cabin for 
w^omen, and v.'ith a restaurant forward. The next above, 
tlie promenade, held the main cabin, richly lined with 
highly polished sycamore and upholstered in red velvet. 
Forward and aft of this cabin were roomy deck spaces. 
The band usually played on the after-part of this deck. 
The hurricane deck was provided with a running bench all 
along the outside. Her two funnels were almost amidships 
and were placed one on each side. Her body was painted 
white, and her funnels a medium yellow, while her name 
in large gold letters stood out on either side. She carried 
a crew of 22 men, a captain and two pilots. 

HER MISFORTUNES. 

The General Slocum has been in almost constant mis- 
fortune since a time shortly after her launching. No other 
vessel in the harbor has nearly as long a record of accidents 
as she, and she has cost her owners thousands of dollars at 



86 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

Yarioiis times for repairs and for hauling her off some bar 
on which she had lodged. 

She had not been running four months when she ran onto 
a mud bank off Eockaway, and remained there until a fleet 
of tugs hauled her off. Two days later she ran into the 
old Monmouth, in the IN'orth Eiver, and had to be taken 
to the dry-dock for the first time with a hole in her side. She 
has broken her walking-beam or a bucket in her paddle 
so many times that during recent years nobody has taken 
any account of such an accident. 

The first serious mishap to the Slocum happened on. 
July 29, 1894, when, on a run home from Eockaway, on 
which it was said she had 4,700 persons aboard, late at 
night she ran on to a sandbar and struck with such force 
that she carried away several stanchions and injured her 
electrical apparatus so that every light aboard was extin- 
guished. A panic followed in which women who fainted 
were trampled upon, and men fought with each other in 
their efforts to get at the boats. Pandemonium reigned for 
half an hour, until order was restored by the crew. Then 
it was found that hundreds had been injured in the wild 
scrimmage. 

In August of the same year she met her next mishap. 
During a heavy squall she ran on a bar off the end of 
Coney Island. It was night, and again a panic raged. 
The captain and crew fought down the scrambling passen- 
gers, and finally when the storm abated, transferred them 
to another vessel. The Slocum remained on the bar for 
twenty-four hours. 

In the following September she was again laid up 
through a collision in the East Eiver with the tug E. T. 
Sayre. She sustained damages which cost $1,000 to re- 
pair, and drifted helplessly about the river for a time, at 
last to be saved from ^oinsr on the rocks off Governor's Isl- 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 87 

and. Minor accidents happened to her until July, 1898, 
when she again was put out of commission by the steam 
lighter Amelia, with which she collided off the Battery. 
The two vessels locked, and were being carried on the Bat- 
tery rocks when tugs separated them. 

In June, tv/o years ago, while returning from Rockaway 
with 400 people aboard, in order to avoid a small sloop 
she again ran on a bar, where she remained all night, her 
passengers camping out on deck and in the cabin. 

HAD A MOB ABOARD ONCE. 

The most serious affair that ever happened aboard the 
Slocum before the recent disaster, however, occurred on 
August 17, 1901. She then had aboard 900 persons, mostly 
men who were described at the time as Paterson Anarchists. 
"When they boarded the vessel at Jersey City most of them 
were intoxicated. The Slocum's owners had contracted to 
take the party to Rockav/ay, and when the vessel passed out- 
side the Narrows she encountered a rather heavy sea. 

Some of the passengers ordered the captain to turn back. 
He refused, and then a mob organized to com^pel him to 
obey their wishes. The mob first Parted a panic among the 
women aboard, and then began a march to the pilot-house 
to lay hands on the captain. The deck hands and spare 
m.en from the engine force were quickly called upon, and, 
with the captain, they attacked the mob, and a pitched bat- 
tle was started. Little by little the mob and all other pas- 
sengers were driven into the cabins, the doors of which were 
locked. An hour later the Slocum stopped at the police 
pier at the Battery, where seventeen of the men were turned 
over to the police. Most of them were later sent to jail. 

The officers of the Knickerbocker Steamboat Company 
liave frequently been up before the authorities for over- 



88 THE GENEKAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 

crowding the Slocimi. Almost every year special men were 
detailed to watch her, and charges against her were often 
made. In 1895 the company was fined $1,670 for a vio- 
lation. 

CAPTAIK VAN SCHAICK'S RECORD. 

Since the day of her launching the General Slocnm has 
been in command of Capt. William H. Van Schaick, who is 
credited with being one of the best of the local pilots. He 
is said to knov/ every foot of the ground about this harbor, 
and though he has been in innumerable accidents, he is said, 
to have suffered more from bad luck than from ignorance. 
He is 61 years of age. His home has always, during the 
sailing seasons since 1891, been just aft of the pilot-house 
on the hurricane deck of the Slocum. His employers credit 
him with being a most capable, careful, and reliable man, 
always ready to protect their interests and the interests of 
his passengers at any cost. 

Captain Van Schaick's first pilot was Edward Van Wart, 
aged 62, of 331 West Twenty-first street; his second pilot 
was Edwin M. Weaver, aged 38, who lives in Troy; B. F. 
Conklin was the engineer; Edward Flanagan, mate, and 
Michael McGrann, steward. 











*^s«»^ 



^,-T 'i K ''-' "^ 








THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 91 



CHAPTER VI. 

SCENES AND INCIDENTS GATHERED BY VARIOUS WRITERS — 
GIRL FOUGHT WAY THROUGH PANIC-STRICKEN CROWD. 

Struggling for safety, Miss Frances Hilbert, of 419 
East Fifth street, had all of her clothing except her petti- 
coat torn from her before she conld leap to a tug that 
was near the General Slocnm. The girl, who is 17 years 
of age, fought her way through the frantic women and made 
the daring jump to the tug. As she made the leap in 
safety another woman jumped squarely on top of her, hurt- 
ing her shoulders. 

The young girl borrowed a man's jacket and thus scantily 
clad went to her home. She was exhausted from her experi- 
ence and was badly shaken up in the rush. 

TWO BOY HEROES PERISH WHILE FIGHTING FIRE. 

Half a dozen young boys, schoolmates at Public School 
'No. 19, at 334 East Fourteenth street, are known to have 
been passengers on the Slocum, and all but one are miss- 
ing. These boys, 14 to 16 years old, were chums at the 
school. The parents of one of the boys and a younger 
brother are also believed to have been on the boat. 

Two of the boys, Fred and Charles Schuler, brothers, of 
15 Stuyvesant street, were last seen just before the upper 
deck gave way. The two boys were worldng in a bucket 
brigade, throwing water upon the flames, and disappeared 



92 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

Trhen the deck crashed down into the flames below. Their 
father searched the hospitals and Morgue for news of his 
heroic sons, but did not find them. 

Henry Alt, of 14 Lafayette place, was one of the boys 
who vv^ent on the excursion. His mother, father and brother, 
it is believed, accompanied him. All were missing from 
their home that night. The rooms were dark. No one 
about the building had heard an3i:hing of them since they 
left the house, a happy family party, early in the morn- 
ing. 

H. McCahon, of 504 East Fourteenth street, another of 
the schoolboy chums, is also missing, and his parents vainly 
searched for news of him. 

Otto Sanders is also believed to have been on the boat. 
He is missing. 

William S. Masterson, the only one of the six boys 
known to have been rescued, was picked up by a tug. 

"I saw Fred and Charles Schuler working with buckets 
trying to put out the flames on the boat. They were on the 
upper deck. Then that deck caved in,^^ said young Master- 
son, "and I was thrown off into the water. I swam around 
for awhile, trying to keep myself afloat, and was picked up 
by a tugboat. I did not see any of the boys after I was 
thrown into the water.'^ 

OIRL SLID DOWN POLE FROM UPPER DECK TO THE V7ATER. 

Miss Marie Kreuger, of 451 West End avenue, who was 
rescued and taken to the Harlem Hospital, said: 

"I was sitting on the upper deck when there was a cry 
of fire. Men came among us and told us to be quiet. The 
women and children were panic-stricken. I slid down a 
pole to the water and held on by a rope on the side of 
the boat. 



i 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 93 

^^The flames began to shoot out of the portholes and I 
had to let go. A little boy was near me, holding to a 
life preserver. A coal barge was near and a deckhand 
threw US a rope, which we got and were pulled aboard the 
coal barge. 

"I saw my cousin and sister, but they disappeared. An 
ambulance, with Dr. Krauskopf of Harlem Hospital, came 
along and brought us here." 



BOTS HEAD BUENED OFF AS HE KNEELS IN 

PEAYER. 



:a.s death comes charred body topples from paddlebox 

INTO the river. 

Patrolman John Hines, of the Mulberry Street Station, 
was one of the scores of policemen sent to the scene of the 
disaster. When he learned the name of the vessel that had 
burned it struck horror to his heart, as he knew that his 
mother-in-law, Mrs. Margaret Wolf, her daughter, Mrs. 
Lena IJllman, and her 8-year-old son had gone on the ex- 
cursion. They could not be found by Hines, who felt cer- 
tain that they had perished. 

Inspector H. J. Steele, of the Building Department, who 
chanced to be on North Brother Island, was among the 
number there who went to the rescue of passengers. He 
waded into the water and drew out three persons alive. 

H. L. Malabar, chief clerk at North Brother Island, has 
witnessed many horrifying sights, including those of war, 
but he said those of yesterday were the most terrible he 
ever saw. When he first saw the Slocum the boat was 
a mass of flames. 



94. THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 



HUNDREDS IN FIRE PIT. 

"I saw hundreds of persons jumping into the water/' 
said Mr. Malabar, "and finally the decks collapsed, throw- 
l ing the crowds on it either into the water or into the pit 
of fire on the boat. A boy knelt on the top of the paddle- 
box, with his hands clasped in prayer. 

"No one on board paid any attention to him. They 
were too much occupied in looking after their own safety. 
The flames crept up around the boy's feet, then they licked 
upward to his face until he was enveloped in fire. Finally, 
I was horror-stricken to see his head burn off and fall 
into the river, followed soon by his charred body.^' 

On the body of a woman lay in the long row on the island 
was found $150 in greenbacks and $25 in gold. The body 
was marked No. 141 of the unidentified. The next body 
also was that of a woman, on whom was found but six 
cents. 

Michael McGrath, steward of the General Slocum, was 
among the drowned. He went overboard with between 
$200 and $300 on his person, and when his body was found 
the money was gone. 

Mrs. Albertina Lembeck, of 427 East ISTinth street, was 
on the upper deck. With her were her five children, rang- 
ing in age from 4 to 10 years, also Mrs. Haas, wife of 
the pastor of the church, and her two children. They 
all remained where they were until the deck fell in. 

Three of Mrs. Lembeck's children were thrown into the 
water and she jumped in with the other two, aged 6 and 
4 years, respectively. 

Mrs. Haas and her children disappeared. When Mrs. 
Lembeck struck the water she became unconscious and 
sank, and when she finally recovered her senses and found 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 95 

.,-*-. .■ ' 
-■'. \^ 

herself rescued all her five children were gone. She was 
taken to Lincoln Hospital, suffering from shock. 

Among the physicians who worked unremittingly at 
North Brother Island were Dr. Weisman and five from 
the Eiverside Hospital. Dr. Weisman finally was compelled 
to desist in his work toward night. He had worked so 
constantly in moving arms and limbs and in other efforts 
to resuscitate apparently drowned persons that he was be- 
numbed and was unable to move hand or foot himself. He 
sat and directed the work thereafter in the hospital proper.. 

BOY SURVIVOR HELPED SAVE LITTLE GIRLS. 

George Gray, 13 years old, of 309 East Fourteenth street, 
one of the survivors, tells the following story : 

^^I was sitting on the rear of the upper deck with my 
two friends. Otto Hans, of 310 East Fourteenth street, and 
Albert Greenwall, of 326 East Fourteenth street. The 
boat was just passing out of Hell Gate and going toward 
an island when I smelled fire. 

"I said, ^Hey, boys, there's a fire !' and we jumped upon 
a seat and tried to pull down some life preservers. 

"A lot of them were rotten and all the cork came out 
of them. Women and children around us were yelling some- 
thing awful. While we were pulling at the life preservers 
a big cloud of smoke and flame came right up out of the 
center of the boat. Then the boat seemed to stop, and the 
women began jumping overboard, and I saw some of them 
throw their babies in the water and jump after them. 

^^After the fire came all up around the deck the boat got 
started again, but the people kept jumping over. There 
weren't any tugboats near us then, but soon I saw a lot 
coming for us. I was afraid to jump over and got Otto 
and Albert to stay with me. 



96' THE GENEEAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 

"We all had got life preservers for ourselves and for 
three little girls who we held on to when they tried to 
jump. 

"The first tug that came to us was the Director. It was 
a big boat and came right np near iis as we were going 
toward the island. 

*Tretty soon there were so many on her that her rear 
end was way down in the water and her bow way up in 
the air. I got hold of a little girl's leg who was falling^ 
over, pulled her up and sat on her so as to keep her from 
being pushed over. 

''As I was on the boat I saw a man on the upper deck 
take a baby and throw it into the water. The baby's hair 
was all on fire and she fell in the water near the tug and a 
man jumped over and got her and brought her to the 
Director.'^ 



MOTHERS HURL BABIES INTO RIVER AND 

FOLLOW. 



WOMEN ABLAZE TAKE FLYING LEAPS TO DEATH IN WATER 
SEXTON OF CHURCH DESCRIBES AWFUL SCENES. 

John Halphusen, sexton of St. Mark's Church, who was 
among the rescued, tells a thrilling story of the burning 
of the boat. 

More than half of those on board, I should say, were 
children — naturally, because excursions of this kind are 
primarily for the amusement of the young folk. The 
weather was perfect, and the start was delightful. 

"We had been gone about an hour, I suppose, and I have 
no idea how far we had gone, when I suddenly saw a rush 
toward the center of the boat, followed by a cry of alarm. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 9T 

'^I pressed forward to see what 'was the matter, at the 
same time calling to the people not to crowd. I took it 
first to mean that they were rushing forward to see some- 
thing along the shore, and I remembered that immediately 
afterv/ard the thought flashed across my mind that some- 
body had fallen overboard. 

"With that idea in my head I had started to ask the 
captain what the trouble was when I saw a cloud of smoke 
go up from the interior of the boat amidships. Immedi- 
ately afterward that fearful cry of ^fire' was raised. 

"I don't think any one will ever be able to describe the 
scene that followed. There was a rush away from the spot 
from which the smoke came. Screams of women and cries 
of the children rent the air. Men began to shout, and 
there were cries of 'keep cool,' Vhere are the lifeboats?' 
'don't crowd/ etc., but I doubt if many heard them. 

"Panic ensued. Sheets of flame followed the rolling 
clouds of smoke, and the fearful rush began to the sides of 
the boat. Wom.en and children were thrown down and 
trampled upon. Many were pushed overboard, and more 
jumped into the river. 

"I saw m.others hurl their little ones far into the water 
and then jump after them. Men and women enwrapped in 
flames rushed past me and leaped overboard. The water 
was soon dotted with floating bodies, which soon disap- 
peared, only to be replaced by others. 

CREW LOST TPIEIR HEADS. 

"It seemed to me that the crew of the boat lost their 
heads — they were undisciplined, and did not do what sane 
men would have done to stay the panic and restore order. 

"ISTever again, I hope, shall I witness such scenes. In an 
instant almost the entire boat was ablaze, and the water 
was the only refuge for them. 



98 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

"Pastor Haas seemed to be everywhere — calm and col- 
lected, striving to stay the panic and assisting in every way 
to help as many as possible to safety, regardless of his own 
welfare. I had a glimpse of him once when he seemed to 
be surrounded by flames, and that was the last I saw of 
him. 

"I felt that he must surely perish, but I have since 
learned that he escaped. 

"There w^as little time to secure life preservers, and I 
doubt if many thought of them. Such pictures of agony 
I have never witnessed. 

"I assisted as much as I could, but I also had my two 
daughters, Mina, twelve, and Clare, ten, to look after. I 
took them to the top deck, and led them onto the paddle- 
box. The flames v/ere all about us now, and I was merely 
waiting for the moment to order my children to Jump. 

"Tugs were coming to the rescue from all directions. 
In the water I could see on every side the despairing strug- 
gles of the dying. Finally, the flames crept so close to us 
that they almost set our clothing afire. I signaled to a tug 
and called to my daughters to jump. 

"The tug Sumner picked us up. 

"I dread to think of the number who were lost. To me 
it is a miracle that any escaped uninjured. It is a terrible 
blow to our church, and to think that it was the ending of a 
happy picnic party V 

BOY WOULD NOT JUMP BECAUSE OF FLOATING BODIES. 

John Eil, fourteen years old, one of the survivors of the 
disaster, gave the following account of his terrible experi- 
ence, his mother and two brothers being drowned before 
his eyes: 

"I, my mother and my little brother Paul made one of a 
large party from our district. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 99 

"When we left the pier the deck was packed to the limit 
of its capacity. The band was playing, the children were 
frolicking, and we were all having a fine time. 

"As we neared Hell Gate children were called down to 
j the lower deck, where ice cream and soda water were served. 

"The children were falling all over each other in an effort 
to get to the tables which held the refreshments. With my 
mother and my little brother Paul, I went to the engine- 
room to watch the machinery. I was standing there with 
John Gray, Albert Greenwall, Otto Hans, and a number 
of children. 

"Suddenly, and without the least note of warning, there 
was a burst of flame from the furnace room that rushed up 
through the engine-room and flashed out about us. The 
flames spread with rapidity of an explosion, setting fire to 
the clothing of the women and children who were grouped 
about the engine room watching the machinery. 

"My mother's dress and my little brother's clothing 
caught fire, and I gTabbed them and started to rush for the 
side of the boat. There was the most terrible panic as the 
burning women and children rushed out among those sur- 
rounding the ice cream and soda water tables screaming and 
jelling with pain. 

"In the terrible scramble my mother and little brother 
were swept from me and carried toward the side where the 
children and women with their clothes burning had begun 
to jump into the water. The flames spread in bursts that 
soon had the entire deck enveloped. 

"The crew was helpless to render any assistance or make 
efforts to check the advance of the fire. We were just pass- 
ing out through Hell Gate when the fire started. The cap- 
tain headed the boat toward North Brother Island, and the 
pilots who were with him yelled frantically to us to stay 
aboard until they beached the boat. 

L.ofC. 



100 THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 

"But in a moment after the flames had burst from the 
engine room great numbers began to jump overboard. The 
women were wild with fright, and snatcliing their children 
to them leaped into the whirlpools that carried them toward 
the rocks on both shores. 

"When she was grounded the flames had spread over the 
entire upper and lower decks. There were only a few spots 
on the boat untouched by the flames and in these were piled 
up women who had fainted and falling pinned others to the 
deck. 

"The men from the tugs who could get near the steam- 
boat shouted for those on board to jump, and then the small 
boats picked them up by the score. 

"Many charred and burned bodies were floating in the 
wake of the General Slocum as she made for North Brother 
Island. 

"I remained on board, as I could not get to the side to- 
leap over because of the mass of wreckage and burned 
bodies of children piled in front of me. My face and 
hands, as you see, are badly burned. 

"As soon as I reached shore I rushed for the elevated 
road to hurry and notify my father of the disaster."' 



BOY KICKS GIRL ON SHINS TO KEEP HER FROM FAINTING. ' 

John Tishner, thirteen years old, of 404 Fifth street, ■' 
another survivor, describes his experiences and his rescue « 
as follows: I 

"1 was down on the lower deck with Ida Wousky, four- 
teen years old, who lives in the same house with me. We 
^vere eating ice cream when the flames burst out right near 
us. Everybody seemed to be yelling fire, and I saw a lot .] 
of women with their hair and dresses burning jump inta ;i 
the water long before any boats came near us. 

"My friend, Ida Wousky, was going to faint, but I 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 101 

kicked her in the shins and waked her np. Then I got a 
lot of life preservers, most of them rotten, and after a 
long time I got one on Ida. 

^'The tugs were coming near us then, and I told her to 
jump. She wouldn't jump, and I pushed her over. Then 
I jumped in the water myself and I got hold of her hair 
and held her up until the tug came and we were pulled out. 

"I guess I saw more than two hundred people jump over 
on my side of the boat ten minutes before the tugs, row- 
boats and launches came anj^where near us. I couldn't 
see on the other side of the boat, but I could hear them 
screaming, and I could hear the splashes in the water as 
they jumped overboard. 

"After I first saw the smoke and flames there was a ter- 
rible rush of people to the rear of the boat. They were 
pushing and pulling each other until those near the railing 
Y/ere crowded over into the water, falling on top of each 
other as they landed in the river. I saw a lot of women 
throw their babies overboard and then fall after them. 
Most of these women were drowned. 

"There were a lot of my friends on the boat. Some of 
them were rescued, and some of them I didn't see after we 
^ot ashore. 

"Harry Gambichner, of Xo. 404 Fifth street ; Mrs. Gross, 
George Gross, and two little girls of No. 90 First avenue, 
were eating ice cream together when the fire started, I 
saw George Gross get some life preservers for them, and 
then, when the smoke came up, that was the last I saw of 
them. 

"Another friend of mine, Paul Kasner, fourteen years 

old, who lives on First avenue, between Fifth and Sixth 

streets, was near me when the fire started. I saw him get 

a life preserver and jump off. He was picked up by a 

-iugboat. 



102 THE GENEEAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

"I saw a lot of girls that lived near me get life preserv- 
ers and jump into the water long before the tugs came. 
They were all swimmers and got ashore. One of the girls 
I saw swim all the way in with a baby. 

"I guess I saw fifty babies in the water before the tug- 
boats came, and the men and women were Jumping in on 
top of them. When they got the tug to the New York 
shore a man took me in a buggy to the elevated station, and 
I went home and told my mother that I wasn't drowned.^' 

SAW MANY FORCED OVERBOARD. 

Probably the first persons to see the outburst of flames- 
from a nearby vantage point were Thomas Miley, of No. 
629 East 137th street, and John Kain, of No. 617 East 
138th street, young men, who were in a rowboat within one 
hundred feet of the big excursion steamer. Their impres- 
sions are well set forth in young Miley's statement, after 
he and Kain had assisted in the work of rescue. 

*^Both Kain and I were rowing, with our backs toward 
the Slocum," he said, "when we heard a loud report as if 
an explosion had occurred. When I looked around a cloud 
of smoke was hovering above the forward part of the 
steamboat. It seemed only a few moments until flames 
leaped up, but it may have been longer, because my com- 
panion and I were awe-stricken by the scenes that followed 
the explosion. 

TRAIL OF DYING IN WATER. 

"We could see women and children struggling with those 
in the rear, and in their terror they clung to those closest to 
them and dragged them into the water. 

"While this was happening the Slocum was being rmi 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 103 

in toward North Brother Island. She had been only 100 
feet or so distant from the island shore when we heard the 
report, but in making the short trip, a long trail of strug- 
gling persons was left in the water. Many of them, I 
think, had been crushed to death in the panic before they 
touched the water, and they sank at once from view. 

FLAMES SWEEP OVER DECKS. 

"In a short time flames burst from other parts of the 
vessel, and the passengers' panic became more terrific. 
Over the sides they were swept from the decks in masses. 
By this time the shore had been reached and the Slocum 
had been run in between two small piers. 

"Almost before the end of the footbridge reached the 
shore the shrieking passengers rushed out on the plank and 
we saw several persons drop into the water as though 
pushed from the sides. In a short time those who were 
uninjured were ashore, but there were some who had been 
hurt by the struggle for life aboard the burning boat who 
could not reach the gangplank. 

"Some of the less frightened men rushed back and car- 
ried these to safety, but there were many, a tugboat cap- 
tain told us, who had been hemmed in by the flames on 
the lower deck. This captain had run his boat alongside 
and picked up ten bodies and saved two little boys. The 
tug belonged to the Daley Company. 

"The tug Wade was the first to go to the rescue. My 
companion and I followed and succeeded in recovering two 
bodies. One was that of an aged woman, and the other 
body was that of a boy, about 10 years old. The boy's 
head was burned and his face was bruised, as though he 
had been injured before he was forced into the water. 

"About a hundred feet from the Bronx shore was a pri* 



104 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

Yate yaclit, with several persons aboard, but they made no 
move to help the struggling people." 

HIS GRANDMOTHER TORN FROM BOY AS HE WAS SAVING HER. 

Charles Schwartz, 17 years old, of 141 East Third street, 
was saved, but he lost his mother, Mi's. Louise Schwartz, 
and his grandm^other, who was 68 years old. He says of his 
experience : 

"When tlie fire started I was sitting with my mother and 
grandmother on the upper deck. My mother ran from me, 
saying she would look after herself, and bidding me care 
for my grandmother. 

"I carried my grandmother to the rail to await the ap- 
proach of some boat, but suddenly the rail <2^ave way, and 
with scores of others we were dumped into the water. Il 
the struggle of the mass vrho were fighting to keep up, 
my grandmother was torn from me and drowned before 
I could reach her. I swam around, looking for her body, 
until I vv'as picked up by a tug. 

"I was taken ashore to North Brother Island. As I 
was standing on the shore I saw a number of bodies float- 
ing toward me. Thereupon I undressed and swam out. 
Among the bodies I found that of my grandmother and 
brought it ashore. I fear my mother was drowned with 
those who were svrept into the v/ater when the rail .2:ave 
way." 

HEROINE RISKS LIFE FIVE TIMES TO SAVE CHILDREN. 

Pauline Fuetz, a comely IS-year-old nurse employed in 
the North Brother Island Hospital, flung herself into the 
water, swam into the midst of the struggling women and 
children, brought five little tots safely to shore, and then 
battled until overmastered by a powerful vfoman who 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 107 

dragged her to the bottom and from whose death clutch 
she escaped exhausted and helpless. She was pulled ashore 
b}^ nurses and carried to the hospital. 

When Dr. Stewart;, the superintendent of the hospital, 
sounded the alarm, Miss Fuetz was among the first to reach 
the beach. With the other nurses and men she waded into 
the water and helped ashore all those who were witliin 
reach. 

Fift}^ feet away the surface of the water was dotted with 
the heads of struggling women and children. Some were 
making feeble efforts to keep afloat^, others drifted help- 
lessly, kept up by their clothing. 

SWIMS OUT TO THEM. 

"I am going out to them," cried Miss Fuetz, hysterically, 
as she pulled off her shoes and skirts. 

Several nurses caught hold of the girl and tried to 
restrain her. 

"Let me go," she cried. "I can swim ; I must go to their 
rescue." 

She flung the nurses off and jumped into the water. With 
quick, strong strokes she soon reached a little girl. Taking 
the child^s golden hair in her teeth she turned and swam 
to shore, delivering her charge to the nurses, who waded 
out to meet her. 

Then she turned back. She grasped another child and 
took the little one to shore. Notwithstanding the pleading 
of the nurses, she returned again and rescued another child. 

Five times she reached the shore with her human bur- 
dens. 

The sixth trip almost proved her last. As she passed 
close by a woman, who gave no sign of life, the latter's 
arms suddenly clasped around the girl's neck. Those on 



108 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

the shore saw a short struggle and then both disappeared. 
They arose again, but Miss Fnetz could not break the wom- 
an's hold. Finally she placed her hand under the woman's 
chin and pushed her off. Before the woman could recover 
her hold Miss Fiietz had passed aromid and caught her 
hair and started to push her toward shore. 

DRAGGED ASHORE EXHAUSTED. 

When they were within a few feet of solid footing the 
woman suddenly turned and grasped the girl again, both 
sinking. Soon the girl's body appeared on the surface. Her 
strength had been exhausted. She was dragged ashore more 
dead thaTi alive and sent to the hospital. 

"It wasn't anything to do," said Miss Fuetz, later. "What 
could I do ? I saw the women and children struggling in 
the water, and what could I do but go to their rescue? 

"I was after the children. I wanted to save the women,, 
too, but my first resolve was to bring the children ashore. 
The woman who got me nearly took me down with her. If 
she hadn't been so excited I would have saved her. 

"It wasn't much to do. I learned to swim at xisbury 
Park. Yes, I saved four lives there last summer." 

The children Miss Fuetz brought ashore were all uncon- 
scious, but they were quickly revived and will recover. 

SEES BROTHER SINK TO DEATH AT HIS SIDE. 

Fred Liederman, of 4 Smith street. White Plains, I^. Y., ^ 
was on board with three other boys. They were George ■ 
Heinz, 16 years old, of 97 Avenue A; John Liederman,, 
his brother, and John Schoeneman. 

"My poor mother, brother and sister were on that boat,, 
too," said Liederman. "I don't know what became of 
them. I was standing with the other three boys at the 
right side of the boat leaning against the rail. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 109 

^'I saw some smoke about the middle of the boat. Then 
I heard the shout of ^fire' and the people started to run. 
I shouted, 'Don't crowd/ and pushed my brother Johnnie 
toward the side of the boat. 

''We were almost to North Brother Island when the rail 
gave way and many people tumbled into the water. My 
brother and I were two of these. 

"I caught hold of Johnnie's hand and tried to save him. 
He lost his hold on my hand, and the last I saw of him he 
was looking at me with a look of appeal that was terrible. 
I was picked up by a boat." 

Suffering so greatly from the shock caused by the loss 
of his wife and child that he could not give his name and 
address, James Eller, a musician, employed at the Metro- 
3)olitan Opera House, was taken to Lincoln Hospital. 



PASTOR HAAS TELLS HOW HE WAS PARTED 
FROM HIS FAMILY. 



LOST HIS LITTLE GIRL IN THE PANIC, JUMPED OVERBOARD 
V^'ITH HIS WIFE AND SISTER; MRS. HAAS IS DEAD, THE 
CHILD IS MISSING. 

The Rev. George C. F. Haas, of 64 Seventh street, pastor 
of St. Mark's German Lutheran Church, which gave the 
ill-fated excursion, was on board the General Slocum. With 
him were his wife, his little daughter and his sister, Miss 
Emma Haas. He had with him also as his personal guest, 
the Rev. Julius G. Schulz, pastor of a Lutheran church 
in Erie, Pa. 

The Rev. Mr. Haas leaped into the water with his wife 
after he had been badly burned about the head. He was 



110 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTEK. 

rescued by one of the relief boats and landed on North 
Brother Island, whence he was taken to Lincoln Hospital. 
Thither his sister was also taken, suffering with burns. 
Both were able to return home in a few days. Up to that 
time they had received no tidings of Mrs. Haas, but the 
clergyman had received word that his little daughter was 
saved. 

"It had been my practice every year," said Mr. Haas, 
"to make a tour of the boat as soon as we started on our 
annual excursion, to see that everything was all rights 
Shortly after the steamer left the Third street pier that 
morning I started from the promenade deck to make such 
a trip. I had just completed the round of the steamer on 
the several decks forward and aft, and was on my way 
back to the promenade deck when I saw smoke coming up 
a narrow gangway leading from the lower to the main 
deck. 

pastor's efforts to save. 

"I thought at first that the smoke might be blowing 
that way from the galley, where I knew they were prepar- 
ing to cook the clam chowder, but the smoke speedily in- 
creased in volume, and I soon realized that it was some- 
thing more serious. I ran to where my wife was sitting on 
the promenade deck and returned with her to the main 
deck, at the same time giving the warning to everybody I 
met to go to the stern of the boat. 

"On reaching the main deck I drove the people before me 
toward the stern, but that was not difficult, for many of 
them had noticed the smoke almost as soon as I had, and 
were hastening away from the point of danger. When 
I reached the end of the cabin I tried to close the sliding 
doors so as to prevent the smoke and flames from being 
blown through them to the open part of the deck, where a 



THE GEIs^EHAL SLOCUM DISASTER. HI 

big crowd had gathered. I closed one of the doors, but the 
other I could not move. 

"I cannot tell how many minntes elapsed between the 
time when I first saw the smoke and when the steamer was 
all in flames. It seemed only a few seconds to me, but 
from v/hat I can remember having done in that interval 
it m.iist have been considerably longer. My wife and I stood 
together near the rail until we saw that the upper deck 
was about to fall upon us. We saw nothing of our little 
girl, who had been playing with other children. My sister 
stood near us. None of us could swim^ but when we real- 
ized that it meant certain death to remain longer on the 
steamer we all jumped overboard together. 

SEPARATED FROM HIS FAMILY. 

"We had on life preservers, but I don't think we had 
them properly adjusted. At all events, after I got into the 
water I did not float, and I immediately became separated 
from my wife and sister. I have no recollection as to how 
I was rescued. The first thing I knew I found myself on 
North Brother Island, and was brought from there to the 
hospital. I did not Imow that my sister had been saved 
until I found she was a patient in the same hospital, and 
I have received no tidings from my wife." 

The Eev. Mr. Schulz, Mr. Haas' guest, and Mr. Mueller, 
a St. Mark's Sunday School teacher, played an important 
part in the rescue of fifty or more children. They gath- 
ered the children on the lower deck at the stern of the 
steamer at the first symptoms of panic, and although miany 
of the frightened little ones tried to jump overboard, re- 
strained them from doing so. Just as the General Slocum 
ran aground on the shore of North Brother Island the tug 
Wade came up and made fast to her stern. Mr. Schulz. 
and Mr. Mueller passed all the children to the tug. 



113 THE GEis'ERAL bLOCUM DISASTER. 



CHAPTEE VII, 

TKAGIC STOPJES OF SURVIVOKS OF DISASTER. 

Pitiful, tragic, jet quaint because of the youth of some 
of the narrators, were stories told by some who had been 
lucky enough to come alive out of the floating furnace or 
the equally dangerous waters of the Sound. 

MOTHER AND BROTHER GOXE. 

John Eil, 14 years old, was on the Slocum with his 
mother and little brother. Eil was saved, but it is thought 
his mother and brother perished. 

"My mother and my little brother Paul and I were with 
a big party from our neighborhood,'^ said John. "John 
Fishman, of No. 401 Fifth street; John Gray, of N"o. 309 
East Fourteenth street; Albert Greenwall, of No. 326 
East Fourteenth street, and Otto Hans, of No. 310 East 
Fourteenth street, were with us. When we left the pier the 
deck was packed so with people you could hardly move. 
The band was playing, and we were all having a fine time.. 

"I was standing with some of the boys v/atching the en- 
dues, when all of a sudden a big sheet of flame burst up 
through the furnace-room, right in our faces. My mother's 
dress and Paul's dress caught fire, and I grabbed them and 
started to run for the side of the boat. There was an awful 
panic; I was knocked down in the rush. When I got on 
my feet I couldn't see my mother and brother anywhere. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 113 

Tlie whole deck was on fire. I was swept into a corner and 
lield there by the crowd. 

"It seemed to nie the people were going over the sides 
like a waterfall. The captain kept blowing his whistle, and 
I could see lots of boats coming toward us. I found myself 
in the water when the Slocum got near the shore, and I 
was picked up by a man in a gasolene launch. I saw lots 
of burned bodies floating behind the Slocum. Fishman 
and Gray jumped overboard and svv'am ashore. I haven't 
seen anj^one else that was with us." 

Eil was burned badly on the face and hands. At 
the 13Sth street station of the elevated road he said he vras 
going home "to tell liis father." 

LIFE PRESERVERS ROTTEN. 

George Gray, 13 years old, of iNo. 309 East Fourteenth 
-street, related his experience. 

"I was sitting on the rear of the upper deck vrith 
Otto Hans, of Xo. 310 East Fourteenth street, 
<and Albert Greenwall, of Xo. 326 East Fourteenth 
street," said he. "We were just passing out of Hell Gate 
when I smelled fire. I looked toward the front of the boat 
and saw a big cloud of smoke. Otto, Al and I jumped upon 
a seat and grabbed life preservers. They were rotten and 
all the cork came out of them. Women and kids were yell- 
ing around us something awful. Just then a big blaze of 
fire came right up through the center of the boat and the 
people began to jump overboard. Some of the women 
threw their babies overboard and then jumped after them. 

"The first tug that reached us was the Director. It was a 
big boat, and came right up close as we were going toward 
the island. I jumped on the boat and a lot of people 
jumped on top of me. Half of them fell back into the 



114 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

•water between the tug and the boat. In a minute there 
were so many on the tug the stern was way down in the 
water and the bow up in the air. They kept on jumping 
and slipping off the tug and going down. I got hold of 
the leg of a little girl who was sliding off, and pulled her 
back, and then I sat on her to keep her from being pushed 
overboard. 

"I saw a man on the upper deck of the Slocum throw a 
baby way out into the river and then jump after her. The 
baby's hair was all afire. The man went right down. An- 
other man jumped over and grabbed the baby and swam 
with her to the Director, and v/as pulled up on to the tug 
by the captain. The baby was alive, all right. When the 
other tugs came up ever3'body that was left tried to jump on 
them, and they jumped on top of one another. Lots of 
them fell off and were drowned. I saw some girls in the 
river swimming toward the island. They were picked up 
by rowboats. 

"I saw two little girls who could swim sink when a big 
wave made by a tug went over them. The women and kids 
were crying and yelling so we couldn't hear the men on the 
tugs, who were waving their arms at us for us not to jump. 
I saw ten men jump into the river long before the tugs 
came, and not one of them could swim. They all went 
down. I thought the Director would sink or turn over 
when she started for the shore, there was so many on her. 
When we got off we were taken in wagons to the elevated 
road." 

SOUGHT NEWS OF FAMILY. 

In great mental anguish, Bernard Miller, of 'No. 95 Sec« 
ond avenue, called at Police Headquarters in the afternoon 
seeking information of his wife and four children. He 
said they had been passengers on the General Slocum, and 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 115' 

all had jumped overboard when it was no longer possible for 
them to remain on board. 

"Myself, my wife and four sons, whose ages were three^ 
six, nine and twelve, were sitting on the first deck," he 
said, "when I saw smoke coming up through the deck in 
great clouds. The people lost their heads. I grabbed life 
preservers and put them on my wife and children, and 
helped them over the side of the boat into the water. Then 
I put one on and went after them, telling them to make for 
the shore. The youngest cliild was in my wife's arms. 
All started for Randall's Island. I started after them, but 
had not taken more than a half dozen strokes when I was 
surrounded by a half dozen women, who clung to me and 
dragged me under. I had all I could do to save myself 
from being drowned by their frantic efforts to hold on to 
me. A rowboat came up and took us all on board. When 
we got to shore I searched for my family, but they v/ere not 
to be found.'^ 

Miller's hands were swathed in bandages and his clothes 
were scorched and burned, showing he had stayed on the 
Slocum until he could do so no longer. 

COULDN^T LOOSEN" LIFEBOAT. 

Nicholas Belzer, of N'o. 422 East Eighth street, was fran- 
tic with grief v/hen he went to the pier at East Third street, 
looking for his wife and child, who had become separated 
from him in the mad rush on the boat. 

"I lost track of my wife some time before the fire 
broke out," he said, "and was sitting on the upper 
deck when I discovered the ship was on fire. I drew my 
penknife and tried to cut away one of the lifeboats. I suc- 
ceeded in severing the ropes, but when I got that far I dis- 
covered they were held with wire and were immovable. 



116 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

^Seeing I could do nothing, I climbed over the edge and 
down to the lowest deck. I jumped into the river and 
swam ashore. The water was filled with floating bodies of 
those who had been drowned, and I had a hard time from 
being drowned myself by persons who would cling to me/' 

Lucy Hencken, fifteen years old, of No. 162 South 
Second street, Brooklyn, was vtdth her mother and her 
brother Charles, nineteen years old. When the excitement 
started the girl took her mother to the upper deck and then 
started downstairs to find her brother. At the bottom of 
the stairway she saw three lone babies who had been de- 
-serted, and were in danger of being trampled on by the 
<3rowd. The girl picked the cliildren up, one by one, and 
carried them to her mother. Then she returned to find her 
brother. When she got back her mother and the babies had 
disappeared. Lucy then jumped into the water and was 
picked up by William Major, who was on a boat. 

Louis Weiss, ten years old, who lives somewhere in Sixth, 
street, was another excursionist who apparently was the sole 
survivor of a large family. He was with his mother, his 
brothers, Henry, Jacob and Fred, and his sisters, Amelia 
and Salome. He saw nothing of them after the first rush. 

BRAVERY OF A WOMAN". 

Mrs. John C. Hynes, with her twin sons, George and 
Theodore, fifteen years old, arrived at her home in No. 397 
East Fourth street, about 4.30 o'clock. She was wet 
through, as also was Theodore, for both had had narrow 
escapes from death by fire and water. 

"I was sitting on the main deck at the stern," she said, 
^Vith my son Frank, these two boys and a friend. When 
the smoke poured up I tied a life preserver on myself and 
ran upstairs, the boys having preceded me, to the hurricane 



THE (iEXEEAL SLOCUil DISASTER. 117 

deck. There we became separated, and I did not see them 
again until we met on the shore. I stayed on the ship as 
long as I could; then I jumped into the water. There 
another woman struck me on the shoulder when she jumped. 
I held her up by the waist until my strength failed, and 
then let her go. She went down, and when she again came 
to the surface I grasped her by the hair and swam as well 
as I could with one hand to the paddle-wheel, where I held 
her head above water until a colored man swam up and 
took her from me. 

^T don't know who she was, but I recognized her as a 
member of the church. I don't know whether she was 
finally saved. Wlien I was relieved of my burden I saw 
a rowboat approaching, and swam to it, and was taken 
ashore. I had been there but a few moments when Theo- 
dore swam to the shore near where I was, and a few mo- 
ments later George was brought to shore on a tug. 

"I do not know what became of Frank. About three 
weeks ago he broke hig" leg, and was hardly able to walk. 
He was taken out for the first time to-day. I fear the 
worst." 

Theodore jumped from the hurricane deck to escape the 
flames, and swam to shore, and George jumped to the tug 
which brought him to shore. 

SAW CHILDREN CATCH FIRE. 

Frances Eichter, eleven years old, of Xo. 310 East 
Sixth street, was with her mother and six other children on 
the main deck, near the band. 

"The first thing I knew," said she, "was a lot of people 
yelling 'fire !' and almost in a minute the whole middle of 
the boat seemed burning. The v\-ind blew the flames toward 
us, and I saw the dresses of several children catch fire all 



118 THE CrEXERAL SLOCUIM DISASTER. 

at onoo. The screaming was something awfuh ^ly moth- 
er called out to me, 'Don't be afraid ! Hang over the side/ 
Then she pushed mo over the rail and I fell down to the 
lower deck, outside, and I hung to the railing with mv feet 
and legs in the water. In falling nearly all my clothes 
were torn off. I don't know where mamma and the rest of 
the children are.'' 

Mrs. Kate Metteor, of Xo. 338 East Fifth street, had her 
six children on the steamer. She and her baby were saved 
by jumping upon the deck of a tug. Her children were 
Elsie, 15 years old: Albert, 11: Eobert, 10: Frederick, 8; 
William, 4, and George, 3. 

'"T was sitting on the upper deck with the two smaller 
cliildren." said she, '^'and the others were playing around 
the boat. When I heard the cry of *fire I' I yelled for my 
children. They ran to me, and I told them to stay near 
me and they would be saved. I climbed over the railing, 
holding the baby tight in my arm. Somebody loosened my 
hold on the stanchion. At that time a tug came alongside 
and I fell right on its deck with the baby in my arms. The 
other children called after me, but when I looked up they 
had disappeared. I was taken to Xorth Brother Island 
and from there came home. I got word WiUiam was in the 
Lebanon Hospital. I can only hope my other children are 
saved." 

NEWS OF ANOTHER SAVED. 

At that point of her story a little girl came to the door 
and told Mrs. Metteer that Elsie had been saved and was 
in the Lebanon Hospital. 

"I was sitting in the stern of the boat with Nicholas in 
my arms." said she. 'T jumped to the railing and was 
going to get into a tugboat, when somebody from the deck 
above jumped and landed on my head and shoulders, knock- 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. Ill) 

ing the little one out of my arms. I know my baby must be 
drowned. I was rescued by a tug." 

^^'I'1ie crew appeared to be undisciplined and unfamiliar 
wiili Die workings of the life rafts and lifeboats/' said 
Jolm ITalpliusen, sexton of the church. "I was standing 
beside tlie pastor nearly all the time. He did everything in 
his power to save the people. I placed my daughters — 
Mina, 12 years old, and Clara, 10 — on the top of the pad- 
dlc-l)ox, and kept them there until the tugboat Sumner took 
us off.'' 

Mrs. Eleanor Richenbaek, of No. 175 East Houston 
street, was on the middle deck with her little son, Herman, 
ill her arms. She said she picked up a life preserver and 
placed it around her waist. 

"The life preserver caught fire," said she. ^^There was 
a rope hanging over the side of the boat, and I grabbed that. 
The rope also caught fire. The flames of the life preserver 
were licking my face. I dropped the baby into the water 
to prevent her clothing catching fire. She sank at once. 
That is the last I remember. When I became conscious I 
was in the arms of a negro who had saved me." 

John Muth, of 'No. 785 East 14Gth street, and his son, 
John, 3 years old, were in a party of ten. Father and son 
are the only ones of the party known to have been saved. 
Miith told his story in the Lincoln Hospital. 

PASTOR TELLS STORY OF STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 

Having lost his entire family, except his sister, on the 
Slocum, the Rev. George F. H. Haas, the pastor of the 
church whose outing was attended by such a frightful ca- 
lamity, was completely prostrated. Mr. Haas lost his wife 
and his daughter Gertrude, as well as his mother-in-law, 
Mrs. Carl Hansen, and his sister-in-law, Mrs. William Teti- 



120 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

more. Mrs. Tetimore's daughter Editli was also on the 
appalling list of the missing. ]\Ir. Haas was under the 
constant care of a physician. With his sister, Miss Emma 
Haas, he returned to his home about 5 o'clock. He told 
this story of the disaster : 

'^^Wlien tlie iire shot up to the top deck and drove the 
crowd back the panic was terrible. The crush from the 
forward part of the boat swept those in the rear along. The 
women and children clung to the railing and stanchions^ 
but could not keep their hold. I, with my wife and daugh- 
ter, were swept along with the rest. 

"In the great crush many women fainted and fell to the 
deck, to be trampled upon. Little children were knocked 
down. Mothers with their little boys and girls in their 
arms would give wild screams and then leap into the water. 
We could see boats pulling out from the shore by this time^, 
and a faint ray of hope came to us. 

"With my wife and daughter I had been swept over to the 
rail. I got my wife and daughter out on the rail, and then 
we went overboard. I was so excited that I don't remem- 
ber whether we pushed over or jumped. When I struck 
the water I sank, and when I rose there were scores about 
me fighting to keep afloat. One by one I savr them sink 
around me. But I was powerless to do anything. 

"I was holding my wife and daughter up in the water 
as best I could, almost under the side of the boat, 
when someone, jumping from the rail directly above 
me, landed on top of us. My hold was broken and v*-;^ 
all went under together. When I came up my wife and 
child were gone. 

"With a great effort I managed to keep afloat, but my 
strength was about gone when a man on one of the tugs 
picked me up.'^ 




CD 

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THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 123 

FIREMEN^ POWERLESS^ SAW HUNDREDS DROWN. 

On the sounding of an alarm for fire from the box at 
138th street and Locust avenue, three engines were sent to 
138th street, but these were powerless to aid those on the 
burning steamer. Fire headquarters was immediately in- 
formed of the fire, and orders were issued to the fireboat 
Zophar Mills to proceed to the place at once from Ninety- 
ninth street, where it was tied up. 

When the Mills got to the General Slocum, the sight, as 
described by the firemen, was one never to be forgotten. 
Fire headquarters was informed of the extent of the disas- 
ter, and the fireboat William L. Strong was started for the 
burning Slocum. The Abram S. Hewitt, the Brooklyn 
fireboat, was ordered to proceed to Seventieth street, where 
she was met by Deputy Fire Commissioner Thomas W. 
Churchill, Chief Croker and Secretary Volgenau, who 
boarded her and were hurried to the place of the disaster. 

When the Mills got four powerful streams on the Slocum 
the remnant of the passengers, a hundred or more, were 
making a last struggle against the flames. They were to- 
gether on the forward part of the boat, moving back from 
the onward course of the flames. 

Men, women and children were huddled on the bow, 
while those nearest to the flames pushed toward those on the 
bow. Each instant a human being was pushed from the 
railing of the boat into the water by the backward sweep 
of the maddened crowd. 

The crew of the Mills reported to Chief Croker on the 
tragic sight, when the General Slocum careened and went 
down. Men and women who had been crowded together 
on the bow of the burning steamer were precipitated into 
the water, struggling to catch hold of one another, and chil- 
dren could be seen floating away from the burned boat. 



124 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

The Mills steamed as close to the Slocum as she could 
and picked up those who could be picked up. Boathooks 
were used, and ropes swung to those in the water by the 
eager firemen on the Mills. Fire fighters dived to rescue 
women and children, and not a few of the rescued were 
landed by the Mills at North Brother Island. 

Chief Croker and the officials on the Hewitt arrived after 
ihe work of the fire had been done. Strewn about the face 
of the water for thousands of yards in all directions were 
articles of apparel — hats, capes, boxes which had contained 
luncheon for the picnickers, larger wooden boxes, burning 
wood, and here and there a dead body. 

PRIGHTFUL PANIC WHEN FLAMES BURST THROUGH FORWARD 

DECK. 

Stories of the survivors of the Slocum disaster abound 
in thrilling incidents. Miss Clara Stuer, who reached the 
home of friends in Seventh street, after her escape, said : 

"I was sitting on the upper deck with Miss Millie Mann- 
heimer, 40 years old; Miss Lillie Mannheimer, her niece, 
9 years old, and Walter, the latter's brother, aged 11. We 
had just passed the entrance to the Harlem Eiver, and 
w^ere going slowly w^hen Lillie called to her aunt, saying: 
^I think the boat is on fire, auntie; see all the smoke.' 
^Hush !' replied her aunt, '^you must not talk so. You may 
create a panic' Lillie would not be silenced, however, and 
it seemed but a few moments later when there was a roar 
as though a cannon had been shot off, and the entire bow 
of the boat was one sheet of flames. The people rushed 
pell-mell over one another, and in the rush I lost track of 
my friends. Hundreds of people jumped overboard. 

"I jumped over the rail and dropped down to the lower 
deck, when I began to dispense with my clothing so that 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 125 

I would have a better chance in the water. Then I started 
to climb down the side of the boat when I heard a voice 
calling to me to hold on a minute. I turned and saw a 
man standing on the bow of a tug whidi was approaching. 
I held on, and was soon taken off with a number of other 
persons who had been rescued from the boat and from the 
water. 

"The tug then put into the landing on Randall's Island 
and after putting the people ashore went out for another 
trip of rescue. As I left the pier I saw what looked to 
me 200 bodies, mostly of women and children, along the 
shore lying on the ground. Physicians were working over 
many of them. In the center of one group I saw the Rev. 
George Haas. Several doctors were doing their best to 
revive him, and as I stood there he opened his eyes and 
looked about. His first words were, 'Where are they ? Where 
is my family ? Are they saved ? Are they dead or alive ?' 

"I then searched about for my friends, and after a time 
I foimd little Lillie. Beyond being bruised she was all 
right. How she escaped she does not seem to Imow. 

"All this time the boat was burning, being surrounded by 
tugs which were trying to extinguish the flames. Lillie and 
I then made our way to a boat, vfhich took us over to ^ew 
York, and we came dovrn to Miss Mannheimer's house, at 
86 East Seventh avenue, but she had not yet reached home.''" 

Bernard Miller of 95 Second avenue called at police 
headquarters and went to the Bureau of Information look- 
ing for his wife and four children. He and his family 
were all passengers on the General Slocum, and all jumped 
overboard. 

"Myself, my wife and four sons, v-liose ages are 3, 6, 9 
and 12 respectively, were sitting on the first deck," he said, 
"when I saw smoke coming up through the deck in great 
clouds. The people on the boat acted as though they had 



126 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

lost their minds. I grabbed life preservers and after put- 
ting them on my wife and children assisted them over the 
side of the boat into the water. Then I put one on and went 
after them, telling them to make for the shore. The young- 
' est child was in my wife's arms, and she and the three 
elder ones started for Randall's Island. 

"I started after them, but had not taken more than half 
a dozen strokes when I was surrounded by half a dozen 
women, who clung to me and dragged me under. I had 
all I could do to save myself from being drowned by their 
frantic efforts to hold on to me when a rov/boat came up 
and took us all on board. I searched for my family in 
vain. They were not to be found." 

Miller's story was told in disjointed sentences, he being 
distracted and almost wild with grief. 

"We did not go over the side," he said, "until we could 
stand the heat no longer, and I was so long on the boat 
that I was badly burned about the hands and neck." 

Miller's hands were swathed in bandages and his clothes 
were scorched and burned. 

Among the husbands and fathers who called at the Alex- 
ander Avenue Station in search of missing ones was August 
Schneider, of 332 Stanhope street, Brookljoi. He was a 
cornet player in the band that was providing music for the 
excursion and had taken his wife, Dora, and three chil- 
dren with him. 

"We were playing on the upper deck," said Schneider. 
"The band, of which George Maurer was leader, was com- 
posed of seven musicians. We were seated in the stern 
when a whole crowd of people suddenly rushed toward us, 
shouting and screaming. 

"At least half of them jumped right overboard. It wasn't 
until a few seconds afterward that we saw the smoke and' 
fire. The wind, luckily, was blowing the flames away from us. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. ^ 127 

"I got my family together and told them to stick close 
to me. I took my little Augusta, 3 years old, on my arm 
and was just considering the best place for safety when 
the deck broke and fell with the ruins. 

"I still held my child, but my wife and the other two 
children were torn away from me, and I didn't see them 
again, and do not know where they are. I was taken o2 
by rescuers on a tugboat." 

Carrying his 3-year-old on his arm, the cornet player 
haunted the station house, examining the bodies. Time 
and time again he uttered exclamations of grief when he 
thought he recognized the face of his wife, but invariably he 
found he had made a mistake. 

What had become of the other musicians Schneider said 
he didn't Imow. A violin player, George Dillemuth, who 
lives at Fifteenth avenue and 68th street, Brookl3^n, was 
picked up in the water by two boatmen 300 feet from 
shore. 

Dillemuth had thrown a life preserver about his neck 
and jumped from the steamer before she was beached. He 
was rescued just as he was sinking. Even in his half- 
drowned condition the man mourned the loss of his violin. 

One brave mother faced fire and death in attempts to 
find and save two of her youngest children, who had been 
dancino' on the hurricane deck. Even after the deck fell 
she insisted on keeping up her search. Her clothes caught 
fire, her hair burned off and her hands and body were 
licked by flames. She would have resigned herself to her 
fate had not rescuers pulled her off the vessel. 

Mrs. Mary Behrendt, of 88 East Third street, was the 
name of this brave young mother. Her hands done up in 
gauze bandages and her hair nearly all burned off, she 
entered the Alexander Avenue Police Station still on her 
quest for her little ones. 



128 THE GENERAL SLOCU:\I DISASTER. 

"Annie, my eldest daughter/' said Mrs. Belirendt, "was 
sitting with me on the upper deck, when 'somebody shouted 
^Fire !' We all began to shout Tire V too, although I 
couldn't see any at that moment. 

"Lizzie and Clara, 10 and 8 years old, were dancing 
on the deck above. I ran up there, but couldn't find them. 
I pushed my way down again. People were trampling down 
each other and screaming and fighting. It was impossible 
to recognize anybody. 

"The smoke came over us then, too. The deck gave 
way and I saw my daughter Annie fall into the water. She 
was picked up by a boat, and for a minute I saw the other 
people falling into the water. Some were picked up, but 
others went down under the pieces of burning wood." 



PATHOS AT POLICE STATION". 



THIRTY-SEVEN" BODIES AT ALEXANDER AVENUE — ALL WOMEN 

OR CHILDREN. 

As early as 12 :30 o'clock men bearing on stretchers vic- 
tims of the disaster began to arrive at the Alexander Ave- 
nue Station. The station is nearest on the I^ew York 
side to where the accident occurred, and it was hoped at 
first that that place would be larg« enough to contain the 
dead. 

In the anticipation that that would be the place where 
the victims would be taken to, a crowd of monstrous size 
soon began to collect, hampering the movements of the men 
on the dead-wagons. 

The arrival of bodies continued to about 3 o'clock. At 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 139 

that time thirty-seven victims of the accident — thirty-one 
women and six children — had been laid in rows on the floor 
of the roll-room. The little tots were laid together against 
the wall of the room, their little bodies taking up so little 
room that they looked from a distance like a lot of clothes 
which had been thrown there. There was not the body | 
of a single man among them — all being women and chil- 
dren. 

The scenes there, as at the Morgue and at North Brother 
Island, were pathetic in the extreme. Coroner Berry took' 
charge of the identification there^, and it was with the 
greatest difficulty that men could be induced to give the 
names and other data required after they had made an 
identification. 

One man who arrived at the station to identify some 
of his relatives had lost his reason entirely, and had to be 
taken to a hospital, and another who had been cured of 
stammering found when he tried to talk to Coroner Berry 
that his old trouble had returned to him again because of 
the fright he had been subjected to. He was forced to 
i^ite what he had to say. 

By 6 o'clock fifteen of the thirty-seven bodies at this 
station had been identified. Most of the identifications 
had been made by men who had learned of the accidenii 
while at work, and had come directly from their work, in 
many cases to learn the worst. Quite early Agnes Dip- 
pert, an elderly woman of 328 East Sixth street, was 
identified by her son Charles. 

In another instance a man who had identified his wife, 
somehow could not remember her first name — the excite- 
ment had banished it from his head. j 

Before the afternoon's identifications had progressed very, 
far it was learned that several runners for undertakers were 
HI the room trying to take advantage in a monetary way] 



'130 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

I 

of the accident. The police lost no time in getting these 
persons out of the place. 

About 4 o'clock in the afternoon the crowd in the street 
by that time numbered several thousands. In many cases 
men with their heads swathed in bandages were flocking 
in to try to identify those who had been with them on 
the boat. Among those who came in who had been injured 
on the boat were Frederick Weber of 404 Fifth street and 
Paul Liebersohn of 133 East 125th street. Coroner Berry 
tried to get something like a coherent account from them 
of what they had passed through, but had to give it up, 
they being in such a state of mental perturbation that they 
could not talk. These scenes continued until far into the 
night. 

Frank Weiss, 1235 Third avenue, came to the Alexander 
Avenue Station looking for his wife and two children. 
They were not among the dead there, and he was sent to 
the Bellevue Morgue, and was again unsuccessful. Later 
he came back to the station and told the desk sergeant that 
he had found his wife and boy at the Lebanon Hospital. 

William A. Conklin, Jr., son of the General Slocum's 
chief engineer, visited the station during the afternoon 
trying to ascertain the fate of his father. His father, he 
said, had been on the Slocum for eight years. When he was 
asked if he had ever heard his father say that the fire appa- 
ratus and life-saving apparatus on the Slocum were anti- 
quated, he replied : 

^'^I often went on trips with my father, and I always 
thought the boat was in tip-top shape in every way. No, 
I never heard him say that the fire and life-saving appa- 
ratus were anything l)ut of the very best." 

C. Schoepfling of 189 Third avenue, whose wife and two 
children were on the Slocum, was almost insane with grief. 
When he entered the room in the rear of the station house 



THE GEN-ERAL SLOCtJM DISASTER. 131 

and saw the bodies stretched out in line on the floor he 
completely lost control of himself and had to be restrained 
hj a policeman. 

The poor fellow picked out the bodies of three women, 
'each one of which he said was that of his wife. It was 
absolutely impossible for him to express himself intelli- 
gently, and nothing the police or bystanders could say could 
convince him that after all his wife and two little chil- 
dren might have been among the rescued. He finally was 
able to prove that none of the three bodies he had identified 
as his wife was really she. He was unable to find any trace 
of his children, Edward and Elsie, the former 10 and the 
latter 3 3^ears of age. 

Almost as soon as the first body arrived at the Alexander 
Avenue Station, some one brought in a little girl dressed in 
red. Who had rescued her nobody knew. She had been 
taken to the police station in the arms of a policeman who 
was on an ambulance taking several bodies to the station. 
She was placed in a chair, where she remained as though 
she had been glued to it. The child's little red dress 
showed signs of having been wet and her face was smoke- 
begrimed. 

The chair on which she sat was right before the spot 
where they began to lay the bodies of the dead. Nobody 
seemed to think of the scenes the child was witnessing. 
More and more bodies were being brought in, among them 
those of six children of her own age. Once she whimpered 
a little, and a single tear crept out from one of her eye- 
lashes and stuck there. She must have sat there for four 
hours. Finally she began to go to sleep. 

About 5 o'clock a man bolted in. His first glance rested 
on the rows of dead women and children on the floor, and 
then, looking up, he saw his little daughter just dozing off 
safe and sound on the chair. With a dash that was more like 



13^ THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

a swoop than a run, he made for his little girl. Seizing 
her he began to shower kisses on the smoke-begrimed lit- 
tle face, the tears rolling down his cheeks, as he began to 
repeat, over and over again : 

"My dear Lizzie, my dear Lizzie, how glad I am to find 
yon/' 

It was with difficulty that Coroner Berry conld get the 
man, who was a German, to tell that he was Charles Krieg- 
ler, living at 257 Avenne B. He left the Alexander Sta- 
tion with his child in his arms to continue with her his 
search for her mother and four other children, of whom he 
had not yet got a trace. 

The police of the Alexander Avenne Station placed all 
the members of the Slocnm's crew, when they conld find 
them, under arrest. They were all too ill to lock up and 
were sent to Lebanon Hospital under police surveillance. 
They were William Van Schaick, captain; Edwin Van 
Wart, first pilot; Edward Weaver, second pilot; Henry 
Canfield, negro, cook; Edward Eobinson, negro, cook; 
James Woods, white, cook; Willliam R. Trimbley, deck- 
hand. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 133 



CHAPTER VIII. 

HARROWING SCENES AT MORGUE DRIVE MANY TO MADNESS 
— RELATIVES OE VICTIMS^ RECOGNIZING THE FEA- 
TURES OF THEIR DEAD LOVED ONES^ SHRIEK, MOAN AND 
SWOON AND BECOME TEMPORARILY INSANE FROM 
GRIEF. 

In all the crowd of hardened men, inured by long experi- 
ence in the handling of the dead, callonsed by frequent in- 
timacy with scenes of acute distress, there was not one 
among those whose duty called them to service at the 
morgue who could witness the horrible panorama of suffer- 
ing and desolation that passed every minute before his eyes 
without an aching heart and a filled-up throat. 

The New York Morgue, with its heartrending record of 
sorrowful scenes, has never before in its history been the 
theater of such performances as were to be seen there. With 
its limited space it could not begin to accommodate the 
silent forms which came knocking at its doors, and long 
before midnight of the day of the disaster it had extended 
its jurisdiction to the long pier of the Charities Depart- 
ment, at the foot of East Twenty-sixth street, along which 
stretched two long lines of plank coffins, with an aisle be- 
tween, down and up which the sobbing fathers, mothers and 
children walked in their ghastly search for their dead. 

BODIES OF MOTHERS WITH DEAD BABIES. 

In those roughly made coffins were forms, the very sight 
of which would move a heart of stone. Mothers with their 



134: THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

infants so tightly clasped to their breasts that they could 
hardly be taken away if anyone willed such a sacrifice ; lit- 
tle girls, their holiday finery bedraggled by the cruel waters 
of the river and scorched by the flames, some still holding 
to their breasts their poor little dolls, and one especially, 
a curty-headed little boy, whose dead hands still firmly held 
a little tin horse, the leash string of which dangled 
pathetically over the edge of the box which held him until 
a heartbroken mother or father should come to take him 
away. 

There were strong men, too, whose torn hands and bruised 
faces showed only too well that they did their whole duty in 
the great crisis and at last gave up their lives; and there 
were white-haired men and women, most of these with peace 
written on their faces, for death must have come quick and 
mercifully to those who could resist but feebly. 

POLICEMEN" WEEP AT SAD SCENES. 

To these pitiful dead came scores of living with distress 
on their faces that it was not good to see. They peered into 
the coffins with almost insane eyes; a shriek, a moan, th« 
sound of a falling woman, or the hoarse shout of a man who 
could not stand it longer, would announce that someone had 
found his dead. 

And so it had gone all day, and the duty of some men 
had called them to hours of these sights. Policemen with 
wet eyes but firmly set teeth had stood guard over these 
dead and miserable living all night long. 

Time and again they' had saved women who, crazed with 
grief, had made a plunge for the river, for attempts at 
suicide had been so frequent on the long death pier that 
they had ceased to be a novelty. 

Out on the street beyond the pier the police had kept 
the anxious searchers in some kind of order, but it had only 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 135 

been with the greatest difficulty, for such grief as theirs was 
not amenable to discipline. But Captain Shire, who did 
a giant's work, got the lines formed west of First avenue, 
establishing a flanking cordon of his men on either side of 
East Twenty-sixth street, and let the searchers approach by 
the south sidewalk and go away by the north. 

SHAMELESS UNDERTAKERS' SQUABBLE. 

Amid such scenes it was hard to believe that a mercenary 
spirit could develop, and yet among the black-garbed un- 
dertakers who had haunted the pier and the contiguous 
streets there had been a shameless rivalry for business,, 
which even the police were unable to curb. Like "shyster'^ 
law}^ers, the undertakers had their runners and ambulance- 
chasers out, and there were actual squabbles at times over 
the dead. 

The horror that a night of vigil unfolded for some was 
best illustrated by the case of Charles Ottinger, of No. 91 
East Seventh street, and his two grown daughters, Lillian 
and Kate. 

For hours and hours they stood in the line waiting their 
turn at the coffins, for the wife of the man and the mother 
of these girls, with Charles and Emma Ottinger, twins, 
aged sixteen years, and Andrew and Arthur Ottinger, also 
twins, aged seven years, went away on the General Slocum 
and didn't come back. 

They found them in the boxes on the piers, all five of 
them, and all the solace they got out of the find was that 
their dear ones were not disfigured. 

FLUNG HIMSELF ACROSS SISTER^S BODY. 

Henry Hardincamp found his little sister Mary among 
the dead. A score of this child's friends were to have 
gathered at her home to celebrate her eleventh birthday^ 



136 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

and the child had talked all the week of the unusual happi- 
ness of two days of pleasure : a picnic one day, a birthday 
party the next. 

Henry Hardincamp found the child in her little pine 
box, and he Just threw himself across her body and refused 
to leave it. He didn't cry — few men at the pier had tears 
at their control to help them out — but he fiercely fought the 
men who tried to tear him away. He was removed at last, 
however^, and his sister was sent after him. 
; It gave many of those who were searching for their owf )i 
a double misery to look in some of those boxes. Take that 
box plainly marked No. 209. In it there was a woman of 
great beauty with a curly-headed child on her breast, and 
they looked so peaceful that it was hard to believe that 
theirs was a violent death. 

A little farther on, in No. 332, was another woman with 
a baby in her arms, not so beautiful but fearfuUy pathetic 
in the way the head of the little one was tucked under its 
mother's chin. It was such things that made many women 
faint and thr^w a gloom over some that many years will 
not eradicate. 

Some of these things threw strong men into temporary 
insanity. Albert Troell, of No. 405 Fifth street, went 
through the line with his wife Anna, looking for Bert, their 
thirteen-year-old boy. 

FRENZIED FATHER GOES INSANE. 

They found him at last, and while the mother fell faint- 
ing on the floor, the father's eyes took on a queer look, and 
he knelt beside the box, chafed the boy's ears, and in a 
stern tone ordered him to get up. He evidently thought 
the boy was in bed, and he was exasperated with him be- 
cause he lay there so silent and still. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 137 

Hie peremptory commands to the lad, uttered in no 
gentle tones, rang discordantly on ears trained all night 
and day to sobs and shrieks of misery, but it was soon un- 
derstood. One look at Troell showed him to be a madman. 
There could be no mistake, and he was gently taken away 
by policemen. 

In a box near the head of the pier was a woman of middle 
age. To this box came a younger woman. She looked for 
a second on the dead woman, then leaped to the open door 
at the head of the pier and made a dash for the river. 

A policeman clutched her skirts and others came to his 
assistance. She was hauled back to safety, and restored to 
a better frame of mind. She was Mrs. Kate Diamond, of 
'No. 79 Mangin street, and the womxan in the coffin was her 
mother, Mrs. Kate Birmingham. An undertaker took the 
body away and the unfortunate woman followed it. 

Such scenes were by no means uncommon. Many in a 
moment cf uncontrollable grief saw a speedy relief in the 
river which had cost them so much. 

HORRIFIED DIVERS WEEP WHILE WORKING. 

All through the night and into the gray dawn men in 
cliving suits, others with grappling-hooks in their hands, 
stood on the decks of tugs which hovered about the sunken 
wreck of the General Slocum. off Hunt's Point. N'ow and 
then a man in one of the weird-looking suits would slip 
over the side of a tug and sink to the bottom. 

Then another diver would appear on the surface. Prob- 
ably he had come to the surface for rest and air. Probably 
he held the body of a woman or the body of a child in his 
rubber-coated arms. The chances were that he had come 
up with the dead, for those divers felt no exhaustion as 
j;hey groped about the bottom of the river among tho dead. 



138. THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

As a diver would bring a body to the surface a grap- 

pling-hook was placed under it and it was raised to the 

deck of a tug. Some of these bodies were twisted and burnt 

almost beyond recognition. When several bodies were re- 

t covered another tug from which divers were not working 



would pull alongside and the dead be transferred. 

How many dead lie in that charred and sunken hull 
cannot even be estimated until every nook and corner of 
the shell has been gone over by the divers. 

Chief among the divers is John Rice, who figured in the 
Boonton catastrophe, in which Diver Oleson lost his life. 
He directed the efforts of the other divers, and now and 
again he would plunge into the cold waters and go down 
among the dead. 

The Naval Reserve launch Oneida came alongside. The 
crew of the tugboats were fast becoming fatigued. Every 
man of them was ready to faint. It took strong nerve and 
manly determination for them to continue their work 
among the dead. 

Roundsmen Klute and Giloon, with Policemen George 
Mott, Murphy, Skelly, Grey and Healey, of the Harbor 
Squad, worked steadily with the Chapman crew and the 
Naval Reserve crew. During the earlier part of the night 
these men got out 217 bodies. This number included 
those taken out after the Chapman tug arrived at the side 
of the Slocum. 

Then human endurance failed every man. Divers stag- 
gered about the decks like drunken men. Men on the decks 
fell over each other as they lifted the weight of a child. 
More divers and more men were sent. There were many 
who were willing to come. There were fathers, brothers 
and husbands lining the shore on Hunt's Point, and 
every one of them paced like a madman up and down the 
sands, some sobbing, some dry-eyed and quiet, others crying 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 139 

out to the searchers among the dead. These men were 
ready to volunteer for the work of diving, or for the work 
of grappling the dead with the great iron hooks. 

Albert Blenberg and Harry Hier, of the Chapman Com- 
pany, came aboard. These men are divers of experience. 
John Eice greeted them. 

^^Go down below, men," he said. 

Quickly Blenberg and Hier donned the great rubber div- 
ing-suits. These men were fresh, and they were as willing 
as they were fresh. They slipped over the side of the tug 
and sank from sight without a word. 

SISTERS EOUND EMBRACED IN DEATH. 

^Tien the sun rose these two men came to the surface. 
In Blenberg's arms were two little girls, each with her 
arms clasped about the other. It was easy to see how these 
children had died. They had died together and death could 
not part them. Their hair was the same color and their 
dresses were alike. These girls were sisters. 

Hier had the form of a young woman in his arms. She 
might have been the mother of these children. Her body 
was found near them, and in her dead hands she clasped 
the dresses of the two little girls. The divers found them 
far down in the hold. It appeared that the woman had 
tried to save the little ones and had gone to her death with 
them. 

^^There are six others under there," said Hier. ^^They 
are buried under the hurricane deck." 

Without another word the two divers stepped over the 
side and went dowTi to the bottom of the hulk. Again 
they appeared. Again they went down, and each time they 
appeared they brought the body of some child or some 
T^oman. Some of them were clasped in each other's arms. 



140 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

just as the two sisters were. Others were burned and 
twisted. 

EIGHT FOR SIGHT OF THE DEAD. 

Boats alongside took the bodies to the shore. As they 
appeared men and women ran forward with loud cries and ; 
pleadings. All were sure that the nine would include mem- 
bers of their families who had gone down to death. 

As they fought for a sight of the dead they hoped against 
hope that their suspicions would not be correct, and yet they 
fought, and it was not curiosity that prompted them. It 
was the desire to claim the bodies of those they loved. 

Stretched on the sands like winrows in a field of harvest 
were the bodies. They were covered, and those who were 
not identified were left for a time, while those who were 
recognized were removed by the police. 

Never did day break on such a scene of grief as marked 
the finding of the dead by the divers on Hunt's Point. 

Working among the living, with cheering words for them 
and prayer for the dead, was Pastor Haas. Never once 
did he leave the rows of dead, except when he steamed in 
a launch out to the side of the wreck and with grappling- 
hook in hand waited to assist in bringing some other body 
to the surface. 

Throngs of old and young hovered about St. Mark's 
Lutheran Church on Sixth street hoping against hope that 
in this last harbor of information they might find some 
thread of hope to raise them in their grief. 

Fourteen policemen were posted before the church to 
handle the crowd, but they were not forced to any physical 
effort. Men and women bent with age, tottering weakly 
on the weary feet that had borne them all night long in 
constant search at hospital and Morgue, their wrinkled 
faces blank with misery, their eyes run dry of tears ; moth- 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 141 

ers whose faces were tortured with anguish and little chil- 
dren with wondering fear and terror written on their tear- 
stained faces, gently jostled one another as they pushed 
their way to the church door and made their heart-rendmg 

inquiries. -, ■, t u 

All night long this quiet throng had pressed about the 
church, their hopeless silence occasionally broken by some 
hysterical exclamation of woe, some tired child's bleating 
cry-, or the pitiful, broken sob of some aged man or woman 
whose children and grandchildren had been swept away m 
the horrible disaster. 

CRUSHED WITH HOPELESS GRIEF. 

At the morgues, at the hospitals, at the police stations, 
where the dead had been gathered together and numbered 
like chattels, there had been wild demonstrations of grief, 
but those who gathered about the church were crushed and 
hopeless. Their grief was the grief of terrible uncertainty, 
breathing imending elegies of misery in their very still- 
ness and worn-out emotions, and among the ranks of police- 
men stationed there to check them from crowding and 
struggling there was none who had not been moved to tears 
of sympathy and who could answer the incessant appeals 
in other than husky voice. 

To recite each separate story of anguish would fill whole 
\ pa<^es, but there were many singularly impressive expres- 
sions of grief that could be singled out from the rapidly 
succeeding tragic scenes. 

Those who passed the "L" station at First street and 
First avenue on their way to the church noticed the figure 
of an old man standing near the stairway on which the 
passengers from downtown trains descend. He was George 
Heinrich Hansen, of 167 East Fourth street, white-haired 
and stoop-shouldered with age. 



14:2 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

JOT MAKES OLD MAN SWOON. 

As train after train thundered above his head his feeble 
old eyes would peer up the stairway in pitiful expectation, 
seeking the forms of his daughter and little grandchild, 
who had joined the joyous host of excursionists at the Third 
street pier. 

As the hours passed the old man grew weaker and weaker, 
until finally he was forced to cling to the iron post for 
support. Never for a moment, however, did he cease in 
his pitiful vigil, and after eight hours of waiting he was 
rewarded when a shrill cry of ^^grandfather V greeted his 
ears and a little form flung itself into his arms. The shock 
of his joy completely overwhelmed the old man and he fell 
fainting to the street. 

When the old man was revived the little girl told him 
that she and her mother, his daughter and only child, had 
been saved through the heroic efforts of gallant Policeman 
Van Tassel. 

As soon as they had been landed on the Manhattan shore 
they had hurried to their home to tell of their safety, but 
meanwhile the grandfather had gone in search of them 
and they had hunted vainly for him at hospital and morgue^ 
thinking he might have gone there seeking them. 

WIDE SYMPATHY FOR PASTOR. 

That the few of the Eev. George C. F. Haas' flock who 
were saved from the terrible death so many met, feel the 
deepest sympathy for him in his bereavement, was shown 
when many, as sadly stricken themselves, called at 
the rectory, 64 Seventh street^, and inquired if he was mak- 
ing any progress. 

The pastor was injured in the back and suffered so from 
shock that his life is almost despaired of. He has been in 



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THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 145 

such a critical condition that Dr. Simpkin, who is 
attending him, would not allow him to learn of the death 
of his wife and his 12-year-old daughter, Gertrude. 

Some kept telling off the names of brothers and sisters 
on their fingers, winding up with a broken sob and a wail 
of infantile anguish. Their inherent fear of the bluecoat 
was lost in their wild, unknowing grief, and they clung 
to the skirts of the policemen's coats, tugging and tugging 
to make their questions felt, until many a big fellow had 
to wipe his sleeve across his eyes and choke back the lump 
that struggled to his throat. 

FOURTEEN" DEAD IN ONE FLAT-HOUSE. 

There is one big five-story flat-house near Dr. Haas' rec- 
tory, 54 Seventh street, where fourteen bodies have been 
taken in the undertakers' wagons that have ominously 
rumbled throughout the district. 

Every tenant in this big house who survived the disaster 
or who failed to go on the excursion, has been compelled 
to put on mourning, and the doorbells in the vestibule 
are completely draped with the black insignias of death. 

Among the dead who have been brought into this house 
of mourning are : Mrs. N. De Luccia and her three little 
children; Mrs. Tobias Nagal, a young woman who was 
about to bless her home with a little one ; Mary Clow, Mrs. 
Galwiski and her two children, Frederick and Henry 
rumbled throughout the district. 

In the house next door, 56, two dead bodies were brought 
in, and fathers, mothers and children are seeking many 
missing ones. 

DIVERS SAW MORE BODIES. 

Diver Dave Tullock cam.e up from the wreck, where he 
had been groping aroimd on the port side for half an hour. 



146 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

and reported that he had come across' a number of bodies 
forward of the wheelhoiise. These bodies were charred 
beyond recognition and so entangled in a network of iron 
and wood that it will be impossible to raise them until 
that side of the sunken steamboat is lifted with chains or 
dynamited. He could not make any count of the bodies, as 
they were wound together in a crushed mass. Approxi- 
mately he thought there were more than twenty. 

BRIXGIXG UP MORE BODIES. 

Divers Peter Gilligan and David Tullock, of the tug 
Hustler, brought up fifteen bodies from the wreck of the 
Slocum on their first trip to the bottom. The bodies were 
found well forward and all in a bunch. The crew of the 
tug Quigley, casually casting overboard grappling-irons 
while passing up the East River, opposite RandalFs Island, 
dragged up the bodies of a man, a woman and a child. 

Six bodies w^ere recovered off North Brother Island by 
men dragging the shore with grappling-irons. Two of the 
bodies were of young girls, two of boys and two of men- 
One man was stout, wore a gray suit and tan shoes and had 
a handsome gold watch in his vest. The other man was 
slender and dressed in black. 

Thomas McQuade has been grappling for bodies off 
JSTorth Brother Island. In all he has recovered thirty-six 
bodies. 

A CONCENTRATED TRAGEDY. 

This is a concentrated tragedy. Ninety per cent, of the 
dead and injured live in a territory embracing less than a 
square mile on the East Side. It is a quiet, clean neigh- 
borhood, in which the predominating language is German. 

For many years St. Mark^s Church has been the center 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 147 

of the settlement. The old people have seen their chil- 
dren marry and take up homes near-by and relationships 
were frequent. That is why in the list of dead it is not 
imcommon to find three generations represented — the 
thrifty old grandmother, the buxom wife and the tow- 
headed little babies. 

On every hand in their neighborhood the sombre 
dead-wagon rattled through the crowded streets, bearing 
bodies of the identified dead from the Morgue. And even 
while these bodies were being delivered at the homes that 
witnessed their departure in life and strength, other bodies 
were rolling ashore up along the Sound and the East River 
or were being released by divers from the wreck of the 
S locum. 

The tragedy of the excursion steamer has taken out of 
many homes in St. Mark's parish the hope of future sup- 
jDort of aged parents. It has robbed hundreds of homes of 
the wife and mother, and in many instances has taken 
away the sole breadwinner. 

In this connection arises the question of the liability of 
the Knickerbocker Steamboat Company. 

"With all the details of the frightful disaster staring at 
them from the pages of every newspaper, from every bulle- 
tin board, and shouted into their ears by every newsboy, 
great crowds have thronged to the various excursion boats 
plying the waters of the harbor. Observation of the vari- 
ous piers from which these boats depart failed to show that 
the General Slocum tragedy had frightened the pleasure 
seekers. 

WATERS STILL CASTING UP DEAD. 

Taken all in all the horror is so vast as to be beyond 
the comprehension of the majority. Only those who have 



148 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

seen the fathomless misery of it can appreciate how awful 
it is. It is enough to appal the stoutest nerve to stand on 
the shore of North Brother Island and see body after body 
rising out of the swirling waters in an apparently endless 
I procession. These are the bodies of the drowned — bodies 
! of women and children. Many of them come to shore al- 
most entirely denuded of clothing, showing that they had 
been engaged in a desperate struggle on the boat before 
jumping or being pushed overboard. 

How so many bodies came to be found in the paddle- 
boxes is explained by the story of Outdoor Superintendent 
Doorley, of North Brother Island. He saw the General 
Slocum approaching the shore and saw scores driven by the 
lire to the tops of the paddle boxes, and from there into 
ihe water. 

The big wheels were spinning around with all the force 
of the engines behind them. The broad paddles picked up 
those who were drawn into their reach, swung them up into 
the boxes, and there they lodged until the wheels were 
literally choked with corpses. As the flames spread these 
corpses were burned. Many of them were completely de- 
stroyed. 

Captain Van Schaick, and Pilots Van Wart and Weaver 
are prisoners in Bellevue, all of them having been badly 
burned. 

Former Fire Marshal Freel has been detailed by District- 
Attorney Jerome to make an investigation into the cir- 
cumstances of the starting of the fire. 

It has been proved that the life preservers with which 
the Slocum was equipped were in such condition that in 
many instances a man's thumb nail would rip them open, 
and they were filled with granulated cork, which quickly 
becomes soaked and loses its buoyancy. These things will 
he investigated. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 149 

THE SCENE AT BELLEVUE. 

At Bellevue Morgue fifty policemen remained on duty 
under Inspector Brooks, helping the visitors who went there 
to identify the dead. 

One woman, Lena Rowski, who found the body of her 
ten-year-old daughter, Donda, among the dead at the 
morgTie, went insane and was 'taken to Bellevue, where it 
is said her condition is considered hopeless. Mrs. Rowski 
knew notliing of the accident until she visited the morgue, 
and did not know that her daughter had been on board the 
boat. She becam^e so violent it was necessary to place her 
in a strait jacket. 

In the morgue, at North Brother Island, at Riker's Isl- 
and, and other points where the bodies were being col- 
lected, the work of photographing the dead went on inces- 
santly as a means to aid in the identification. 

Of the heroism displayed, the insane panic of the fright- 
ened women and children, and the cowardly cruelty of sel- 
fish ones who trampled upon others in the fight to save their 
own lives when the Slocum was rushing her human freight 
to death, but little will ever be known. 

The big excursion steamers Cygnus and Sirius, with 1,500 
and 2,000 Sunday School excursionists aboard, sailed close 
up to the wreck on their way to the beaches along 
the Sound and hovered about the neighborhood of the disas- 
ter for some time. 

The band of the Sirius played "ISTearer My Ood to Thee,'' 
and the Cygnus' band played "Safe in the Arms of Jesus.'^ 
"Women and children crowded close to the rails of the big 
steamers, exhibiting the deepest emotion. The same scene 
was repeated when the Starin barge Sum^r, in tow of the 
tugboat E. Levy, was drawn near the wreck and lay-to for 
several minutes. 



150 THE GEXEEAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

THE CAPTAIN^S STORY. 

Captain W. H. Yan Schaick, who has been in command 
of the General Slocum ever since she was launched, in 1891, 
and six other members of the crew were taken to the 
Lebanon Hospital. Captain Van Schaick and the first and 
second pilots, Edward Van Wart and E. M. Weaver, were 
under arrest. Among the others taken to the Lebanon 
Hospital were several deck hands, and the cook, Henry Can- 
field, a strapping Southern negro, who said he had been on 
the boat for several seasons. 

Captain Van Schaick was suffering from a fractured 
leg, contusions of the head and a slight burn. The 
fracture was the result of his jumping from the pilot- 
house after the boat was beached. He was pulled 
from the water by the heroic women on Korth Brother 
Island, he said. Before being taken to the hospital he 
made the following statement regarding the disaster, at the 
Alexander Avenue Station, where he had been detained for 
the coroner: 

^The Slocum left the foot of East Twenty-third street 
at 9.30 o'clock. There had been collected on board 982 
tickets. The boat passed slowly up the river, through Hell 
Gate and over toward Sunken Meadows, where the Seawan- 
haka was burned in 1880. When close to the Meadows an 
alarm of fire was given. At that time I was in the pilot- 
house. I jumped down to the deck and gave immediate 
orders for fighting the fire. The fire drill was sounded, 
and the crew of the boat, numbering twenty-three men, 
worked like nailers to get water on that part of the boat 
which was burning. 

UNDER FORWARD BOILERS. 

^^The fire was under the forward boilers on the port side, 
as I made it out in the excitement. My men were exerting 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 151 

their efforts toward keeping the passengers from jumping. 
The fire was gaining every instant^, and the cries of people 
suffering from burning to death could be heard above every 
other discordant sound. I got the boat under way direct 
for North Brother Island, which was the safest place to 
attempt to land. The boat was driven on under full speed, 
and pulled up sideways to the shore of the island. Many 
had jumped prior to this. Many were jumping every in- 
stant. My pilots, Edward Van Wart and Edwin M. 
Weaver, were doing everything to get safely toward shore, 
and Engineer B. F. Conldin stuck in the hold. Mate Ed- 
ward Flanagan had charge of the fire brigade, but when the 
fire spread over all we had to get off the boat. My hat was 
burning when I jumped, and I was pulled out of the water 
and hauled up on shore under a tree before I remembered 
what had happened.'' 

Canfield, the cook, had a theory as to the origin of the 
fire. He said to a "Tribune" reporter: 

"The first I knew about the fire was when the boat was 
opposite North Brother Island. I heard two bells and a 
jingle, and I knew that meant there was ^somethin' doin',' 
for that means back water pow'ful hard. I ran up and 
saw there was a fire, and shouted, 'Boys, come up !' I put 
on a life preserver and jumped overboard. I can swim, so 
when a lot of people got hold o' my preserver, I unfas- 
tened it and helped them into a boat that came along. 
One woman — a handsome one she was — said: Tf you save 
my life you won't have to wak the remaindah of yo' life.' 
I'd like to have helped her, but I couldn't. I don't know 
where she is. Wliere did the fire start ? I think it started 
in the porter's closet, where they keeps the waste and oil. 
That's a little room down below. I have been in it, and I 
don't think it was lined with zinc, as it ought to have 
been." 



153 THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 

The fire, it is said by William Trembly, a deck hand on 
the Slocum, undoubtedly was caused by the spontaneous 
combustion of oil and rags in the forward part of the hold, 
where oil was stored. The first thing known of the fire was 
when it burst out in great fury, aided by a quantity of oil 
that was carried and by the stiff breeze that was blowing. ' 

Henry Iden, who saved his sweetheart. Miss Swartz, by 
holding her to the side of the burning boat after they had 
jumped overboard, declared that the fire was due to a stove 
on which clams were being cooked, on the deck. 

"I was on the lower deck with Miss Swartz," he said, 
"when suddenly there was a burst of flames from a kitchen 
on the deck, where they were frying clams. Without any 
warning whatever the flames bruke out, and in a minute 
were all over the forward part of the deck. I think that 
the flames spread so fast because of some overturned oil that 
had been spilled on the deck." 

The most readily accepted explanation is that an oil 
stove exploded in the kitchen while someone was trying to 
light it. This is borne out by the statement of Albert 
Kolb, of Marion avenue and 201st street, who went down 
below decks to get a plate of chowder. Just as Kolb en- 
tered the pantry, or kitchen, the explosion of the stove took 
place, and there was a hurried exit from the room by Kolb, 
and the others who were there followed. All of the crew, 
from the captain down, escaped. Of these. Captain Van 
Schaick, Pilot Edwin Weaver, James Wood and Edward 
Eobertson, deck hands ; Henry Canfield, the cook, and Ed- 
ward Want, dishwasher, are in the Lebanon Hospital. 
They will recover. 

The crew is said by some to have paid little or no heed 
to the cries for help of the Sloeum's passengers, but busied 
themselves about saving their own lives. It was pointed 
out by some of the survivors that if they had provided the 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 153 

'women and children with life preservers the disaster 
would never have occurred in its present immensity. 

A MYSTERY TO A WATERMAN. 

Why the Slocum was not beached on the Bronx side of 
the river is a mystery to watermen. Thousands of per- 
sons were at hand to go to the rescue if the burning boat 
had been kept to the N"ew York shore. This was explained 
by the fact that the steering apparatus had given way and 
the pilot was unable to control the boat. One man, how- 
ever, who saw the Slocum come up the river, said that the 
steering gear could not have been out of order, as the Slo- 
cum was run past North Brother Island, and then turned 
toward it. Many factories line the Bronx shore near where 
the Slocum beached, and the North Beach ferry and the 
Health Department pier are there, so that there would have 
been any number of men to go out to the help of the 
steamer and its load of passengers. There was a rumor 
that the ferryboat Bronx, which runs from 134th street to 
College Point, L. I., had passed the Slocum without paus- 
ing to give aid. This was denied at the office of the ferry 
company. 

Joseph Gillan, who runs a bathing-house at 134th street 
and the East Eiver, near where the Bronx docks, saw her 
w^iile the Slocum was coming up the stream. He says that 
there were two barges and a schooner between the Bronx 
and Slocum, and that when the way was clear the Slocum 
was going so fast that the Bronx could never have reached 
her. Gillan says that the ferryboat was fully seven hun- 
dred feet away from the Slocum. 

Chief Pilot Edward Van Wart, who was at the wheel 
when the fire broke out, said: 

"I was in the pilot-house with the captain and second 



154 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTEK. 

pilot, Edwin Weaver, The first mate called through the 
tube that there was a fire in the stern. The captain imme- 
diately told him to lower the boats and get the fire appara- 
tus out. It seemed as though the words were barely out of 
his mouth when the entire boat was wrapped in flames. 

"I turned her head with the idea of making the nearest 
dock, but saw at once that our cables were burned and that 
it would be fatal to attempt a landing without them in the 
deep water near the docks. 

By this time the heat was so intense that we had to close 
the windows of the pilot-house. After we beached her we 
managed in some way to get to the deck, and jumped into 
three feet of water. In doing tliis the captain hurt his 
spine and split one of the bones in his ankle." 

THE CREW OF THE SLOCUM. 

Captain Van Schaick was bom in Troy, this State, sixty- 
one years ago, and is one of the oldest excursion boat cap- 
tains plying in New York waters. He has always had the 
reputation of being capable and careful, and was consid- 
ered an expert handler of side-wheelers. Captain Van 
Schaick's first pilot was Edward Van Wart, aged 62, of No. 
331 West Twenty-first street, Manhattan; his second pilot 
was Edwin M. Weaver, aged 28, who lives in Troy; B. F. 
Conklin was the engineer, Edward Flanagan the mate and i 
Michael McGrann the steward. Captain Van Schaick lived 
on board the boat, 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 155' 



CHAPTER IX. 

i- 

BURYING THE DEAD — FIRST FUNERALS OF THE VICTIMS — 
THE PARISH MOURNS — MANY BLOCKS ARE DRAPED WITH 
CRAPE. 

The first of the funerals of the dead of the Slocum dis- 
aster were held June 17, and the bereaved parish of St. 
Mark^s, from which by far the greater part of the victims 
were drawn, was in the deepest mourning from end to end. 
The first funeral was that of Marj^ Becker. There was a 
short service in the church, and the interment was in the 
Lutheran Cemetery, Queens Borough. 

There was no large gathering at the church to attend 
this, the first of the funerals of the Slocum victims. Few 
seemed to realize that the time for burying had come be- 
fore many had succeeded in finding their dead. Of all the 
persons gathered in the church — and there were nearly a 
hundred when the funeral took place — there were very few 
who were not seeking news at the bureau of information 
which was established, of their missing relatives or friends. 

The search for the missing was kept up all day long, and 
even while other funeral services were being held in the ' 
darkened church and the hearses were carrying the dead 
to the cemeteries grief-stricken men and women were beg- 
ging for some word at the church door, and in the majority 
of instances, learning nothing, would make the journey to 
the Morgue and seek again among the dead, then back to 
the church again to see if something had not been heard 
there at last. 



156 THE GENEEAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

CENTEE OF CITY's GEIEF. 

Throughout the city there is mourning, but the seat of 
grief is in that section of the lower East Side, centering 

: about St. Mark's Lutheran Church, in East Sixth street. 

'■ As quickly as the bodies were identified at the Morgue by 
families or friends they were removed to their homes, and 
in this section there was scarcely a house without its sombre 
sign of mourning at the door. There were few persons in 
the streets, which presented the appearance they might have 
on a quiet Sunday. Life there seemed at a standstill. 
When the survivors left their houses it was to go to the 
Morgue or to the church itself, where a bureau of informa- 
tion has been established, to ask for tidings of the missing ; 
for in many families more than one went to death on the 
General Slocum — ^in many instances four or five, in some 
as many as nine from a single household. In a block of 
sixteen houses, eight were counted with flags draped with 
crape at half-mast. 

SCHOOLS IN MOURNING. 

Superintendent Maxwell, of the Board of Education, 

after receiving a report of the pupils of the school who 

went on the ill-fated excursion, has ordered that the gradua- 

- tion exercises in the lower East Side schools be abandoned 

and that memorial exercises be held in their stead. 

Mayor McClellan, Commissioner McAdoo and Dr. Dar- 
lington, who have all been in the places where they were 
most needed since the holocaust, were busy seeing that the 
best arrangements under the circumstances were being made 
to handle this unlooked-for situation. 

The Mayor has appointed a committee of citizens to re- 
ceive contributions to be used to care for the needy, to help 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 157 

them bury their dead, to see in those cases where the weaker 
have been left that they shall not want. 

And he is making a careful inquiry as to the causes of 
the disaster. The District Attorney has set on foot an in- 
vestigation, and Secretary Cortelyou, of the Department of 
Commerce and Labor, has reached this city from Wash- 
ington to take a hand in fixing the blame. 

FINDING MORE BODIES. 

With dawn there was no diminution in the activity of 
the workers on North Brother Island. Divers of the Dock 
Department were making descents into the wrecked hold of 
the Slocum. They report that there are still many bodies 
burned beyond recognition in the waist of the boat, where 
the victims were buried when the superstructure and the 
upper decks, their supports burned away, collapsed and 
carried all of the excursionists in that part of the boat into 
the seething hull. All night long Diver John Eice and 
Diver Bob Eussell, who have worked in the hull with only 
short intervals for rest, say that they cannot tell what num- 
ber the dead amidships will reach. 

DIVERS BRING BODIES TO SURFACE. 

Diver Eice recovered eighteen bodies in a very short time^ 
and most of them were so burned and mutilated as to make 
identification a fortunate chance. 

Divers Blumberg and Hier went to the assistance of Eice 
and Eussell, and in the light of flaring gasoline torches and 
searchlights on the police boats and tugs the odd-looking 
black figures dipped beneath the surface of the water time 
after time, rising to the surface more often than not witli a 
body. 



.158 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

All that is to be seen of the wrecked boat as she lies on 
lier side off Hunt's Point are the upper part of the star- 
hoard paddle-wheel box^ a section of smokestack and a 
portion of the walking-beam. 

MANY BOATS ABOUT THE WRECK. 

There were many boats about the wreck all night, police 
boats, tugboats, rowboats and private boats bearing curi- 
ous persons, and these latter were moving about every- 
where, getting in the way continually of those who were 
present only to help, to do what little they could to have 
this grewsome task at an end and all the outward and 
visible evidences of the holocaust done away with. 

The Merritt & Chapman's wrecking tug Hustler has an- 
chored near the wreck, and it was from her decks that the 
divers descended into the water and went about their work 
of recovering the bodies. 

No one is able to estimate how many dead there must 
still be at the bottom of the river along the shores of the 
island, but always at ebb tide bodies are recovered by the 
score. During half an hour at ebb tide one night seven- 
teen bodies were recovered. Coroner O'Gorman said that 
he believed the river still contained 200 bodies. 

BODIES CARRIED OUT TO SEA. 

The divers say that beyond doubt some bodies must have 
been carried out to sea. The appearance along the water 
front of charred bodies as far south as Jefferson street 
would add weight to this statement. Those bodies may 
never be recovered, and the men who have worked about 
JSTorth Brother Island said that it would be a week before all 
of the bodies could be taken from the hold of the steam- 
ship and from the bottom of the river in its vicinity. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 159 

Coroner O'Gorman was on the island until lie dropped 
from exhaustion at midnight. He had been working in 
his shirtsleeves, with only two hours' sleep, numbering the 
bodies and docketing the valuables found on them, since 
the disaster happened. 

WORKERS COLLAPSE. 

Others, men who had known no rest and sought none, 
dropped of exhaustion and slept on the shores of the island, 
wherever they happened to fall, near the bodies of the dead. 

Police boats guarded the wreck, and at the orders of the 
District Attorney's office, it was said, allowed no one to 
come near the wreck who was not engaged in the work of 
raising from it the bodies of the women and children in 
its hold. 

SIGHTSEERS HAUNT SCENE. 

In contrast to the bitter work going on at the wreck and 
on the island was the attitude of the sensation seekers, 
morbid persons of all classes who put in an appearance 
unblushingly at such times as these. 

Yachts, launches and rowboats visited the wreck, and for 
the most part the occupants merely stared and said noth- 
ing, but some of them were laughing and talking ani- 
matedly as they passed over the grave of 600 fellow human 
beings, perhaps more. 

The police became more strict in the questioning of those 
trying to land on the island, and the consequence was that 
the crowd of morbid women who had sat on the rocks dur- 
ing the day was much diminished. 

Many of the survivors whose families and friends were 
still among the missing visited the island, but in the rest- 
lessness of grief soon turned away again and returned to the 



160 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

section where almost everybody had his dead to brood 



over. 



Here there was little sympathizing one with another. 
Almost every one had his or her sorrow, and bore it silently 
in a dazed fashion that in most instances grew more pro- 
nounced as the day went on. 

The dawn made the streets the dreariest spectacle the city 
has ever seen. Sorrow seemed concentrated within a few 
blocks. During the early morning a drizzling rain fell, 
but this made little difference to the sorrowing families. 
The crowd before St. Mark's Church appeared to be as large 
as ever, and stood silently, the women with shawls drawn 
over their heads, the men with coat collars turned up and 
hands thrust into their pockets. Now and then the entire 
gathering would sway forward as if by a common impulse, 
then would resume its stoical attitude without sound or 
motion. At times a woman would scream, and tlie rest 
would look up inquiringly for a moment, then drop their 
eyes again to the sidewalk. 

ASKING FOR NEWS AT THE CHURCH. 

Two or three dim lights burned in the vestibule of the 
church, where the Eev. Mr. Feldman, of the German Luth- 
eran Church in Seventy-ninth street, had established hi& 
bureau of information. 

THE REV. MR. FELDMAN COLLAPSES. 

For over thirty-six hours the Eev. Mr. Feldman kept ta 
his self-imposed task of giving the information and com- 
fort he could to the survivors who had lost members of their 
families in the wreck, but he became so worn out that 
human nature could no longer stand the strain, and he col- 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 161 

lapsed. He was attended by a physician and put to bed in. 
a nearby house, other volunteers taking up his task. 

One by one the persons waiting outside would file into the 
vestibule and past the small deal table on which lay the list 
of the dead, the injured and the missing ; messages given to 
some survivor, perhaps by a dying comrade, for his family ; 
and trinkets, a few, which had been picked up by those 
who were saved and which it was thought might be claimed 
here. 

But as those who had asked their questions and received, 
as was the rule, the shake of the head and the few kindly 
words of the clergyman, which told that nothing had been 
heard of the missing one, or the confirmation that the one 
who was sought was dead, filed out of the church to let 
others take their place, there was no appreciable diminutioit 
in the waiting crowd; 

SEARCHERS DAZED. 

The grief of the neighborhood showed no signs of lessen- 
ing. At first the calmness of the survivors was astonish- 
ing ; afterward there was no mistaking this apparent calm- 
ness — it was infinity of despair which does not express itself 
externally. 

It was hard for the clergyman to understand many of 
those who asked for the missing. Many were so dazed by 
grief and loss of sleep that they could not remember the 
names of their children, their fathers or mothers, brothers^ 
or sisters, as the case might be. 

POLICE AT THE CHURCH. 

A squad of five policemen in charge of a sergeant was 
stationed at the church, but they were needed only 



162 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

to say a kindly word now and then and to lend a helping 
hand when a woman would stumble blindly up the church 
steps. There was no disorder in the stricken. 

A white-haired old woman, Mrs. Ella Wormstick, told a 
policeman that she herself had gone to the Morgue and 
had foimd the body of her grandson, Albert Wormstick, 
£ind that of her daughter-in-law, Louise Wormstick. 

HER GRANDSON" IS HOME AGAIN. 

^''My grandson is home again/' she said, '^and my daugh- 
ter-in-law is home again, too. We three are alone in the 
house, because I can't find my son or my granddaughter." 

"If they have not been heard from, perhaps they are still 
.alive," the policeman suggested. 

LIGHTS BURNED FOR THE DEAD. 

Through the drawn blinds of the majority of the houses 
faint lights glimmered at night, and the few persons going 
-through the streets knew that in the room with each of those 
lights was a dead body. 

Crape hung on the doors of most of the houses. On the 
door of one tenement house hung thirty-five streamers. But 
this did not seem so appalling as to see on the door of a 
small house, in which only one family lived, seven streamers 
of crape. 

To see one streamer was uncommon; on most of the 
liouses appeared four or five. 

DEATH-WAGONS EVERYWHERE. 

Undertakers' wagons filled the streets, drawn up before 
the doors of most of the houses. Three undertakers of 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 163 

the section liad charge of the arrangements for most of the 
funerals, and they said that it would take a week before 
all the dead now accounted for could be buried. They were 
^t this work night and day, but it was impossible for them 
to go ahead more rapidly. 

OTHER CHURCHES THROW OPEN THEIR DOORS. 

Dr. Morris, pasior of the Seventh Street Methodist 
Church, offered the stricken people the use of his church 
for funerals. St. Augustine's Protestant Episcopal Church, 
in Houston street, made the same offer, and it was expected 
that every church in the neighborhood, of whatever denomi- 
nation, would make a similar offer. ii 

Most of the dead were buried in the Lutheran Cemetery 
jon Long Island. 

POLICE PREPARE FOR FUNERALS. 

Inspector Max Schmittberger, accompanied by Captain 
McDermott, of the Fifth Street Police Station, in which 
precinct the desolated section lies, went to Police Head- 
quarters and talked with Chief Inspector Cortright about 
what arrangements should be made for police protection at 
the funerals. 

It was finally decided that ten policemen should be de- 
tailed to each funeral to handle the large crowds which were 
sure to be present. This necessitated the detailing of 
squads from all over the city. 

Inspector Schmittberger brought with him to Headquar- 
ters a fairly complete list of the missing, the best which it 
iad been possible to draw up. 

Captain McDermott, of the Fifth Street Station, who has 



164 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

the reputation of being one of the most cheerful Irishmen 
on the force, was deeply moved. 

"They^re taking my best citizens away from me/' he said^ 
and he would not trust himself to speak further. 

ANXIOUS TO GIVE AID. 

The Eev. Mr. Holter, of the Jersey City Lutheran 
Church, who began a collection for the needy among the 
survivors who have relatives to bury, received over $700 
before he left the church, worn out. 

Before daylight went many who were anxious to give, but 
there seemed to be no one who was willing to take the re- 
sponsibility of receiving the gifts offered. 

It was very pitiful to see poor men and women, dressed in 
rags, go to the church and tender their mite, often no more 
than a five-cent piece, saying: 

"I want to help a little.'^ 

The police sergeant, to whom they were always finally 
referred, told them to come again a little later, when the 
Eev. Mr. Holter would have returned and would accept 
their help thankfully. 

LOOKING FOR HIS WIFE. 

Joseph Schmittberger came to the church looking for his 
wife. He was so dazed that he found difficulty in recalling 
her first name, and could describe her only vaguely. He 
had his twelve-year-old son with him, who was rescued from 
the burning Slocum. The boy said that he was one of the 
first to jump, and that he was picked up by a boat before 
he had been in the water many minutes. He described see- 
ing his mother, for the last time, reach up and wrench a life 
preserver from the racks. He said that the life preserver 



>5 

H 

W 

o 

> 

02 



m 

o 

o 




*»^- ' 



THE GEXEEAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 167 

tore in two pieces and that something looking like sawdust 
poured out of it. 

After that, the boy said, he was separated from his mother 
and saw her no more. 

PASTOR HAAS OUT OF DAXGER. 

The pastor of St. Mark's Lutheran Church, who was 
saved, but whose wife and daughter went down with the 
boat, and who was in a critical condition, is now said to be 
out of danger. 

A trained nurse from Bellevue Hospital has been with 
him constantly ever since he was led home half crazed. 
His wife's body has been identified and brought to the 
house; his daughter is still among the missing, and her 
body in not in the morgue. 

He is still seriously ill in bed. The elders of his churchy 
some of them dead, and the others taken up with their own. 
grief, can do nothing to attend to the church and to the 
throng of survivors which is always asking for news. 

ORPHANED CHILDREN GRIEVE. 

The sounds of lamentation from the houses where the 
dead lay were audible in the street. A little child sat in 
the corner of a courtj'ard, a tot no more than four years 
old, who cried softly all the morning through, until a 
woman, hearing her, took her up and carried her to her own. 
house. Her mother was among those missing, and she had 
had no care and been without food since the day of the 
disaster. 

It is in these little inside courts that the pitiful scenes: 
are to be found. Here sit the women, their stoical German 
faces expressionless, some of them with babies on their 



168 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

arms to whom they attend out of habit, thinking of other 
children who are among the dead. 

They say little, these women. At times the sound of 
sobbing will bring one to her feet, and she will enter the 
tenement and go to whomever is grieving. 

RECEIVING TIDINGS OF TPIE MISSING. 

Into these gatherings of silent women a man would go 
now and then and say something to one of them, whereupon 
she would arise and go to the church seeking confirmation 
of the report she had heard. It might be that she had 
heard of the finding of the body of her own child or of her 
sister. 

It was at these times that grief would find outward ex- 
pression, when a woman would sink into a pew in the sug- 
gestive darkness, and fill the echoing church with her sob- 



bing. 



PASTOR HAAS MESSAGE. 



One of tbe clergymen might go to her and tell her to be 
of good cheer. 

To all a copy of a message from the pastor was given. 
It read: 

"In a common loss we have a common hope. I wish I 
could be with you all, but I am stricken just as you are.^' 

ARRANGEMENTS AT THE LUTHERAN CEMETERY. 

Many additional grave diggers have been employed at 
the Lutheran Cemetery, at N'ewtown, Queens Borough, 
L. I., to prepare for the burial of the dead. The superin- 
tendent said that already 100 applications had been made 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 169 

^or the burial there of the Slocum^s victims, and that other 
applications were coming in constantly. 

Ee also stated that for each succeeding day for a 
week applications for burials have been made. Every- 
thing is being done at the cemetery to facilitate this sad 
work. 

THE CROWD AT THE MORGUE. 

The crowd at the improvised morgue on the Charities 
Department pier, at the foot of East Tw^enty-sixth street, 
was very large. The force of police stationed there, how- 
ever, v\^as maintained. The most noticeable feature about 
the morgue pit was the unrestrained grief of those look- 
ing for the bodies of family or friends. 

There was little open demonstration on the pier yester^ 
day, but there was scarcely an identification unaccompanied 
by a heartbreaking scene. 

For one thing, there were fewer bodies, and on this ac- 
count the affair of death did not seem so common. In ad- 
dition the searchers had been under the strain one day 
longer, and they were just that much nearer the breaking 
point. 

EIGHTY-FIVE BODIES LEFT. 

There were eighty-five bodies remaining on the pier, and 
during the greater part of the day a crovv'd of between 300 
and 400 men and women were passing and repassing in front 
of these, going about the work of identification. All but 
sixty of the bodies then in the moronie had been identified^ 
before the pier was closed at midnight, but the Charities 
Department boat Fidelity camie down the river during the 
early morning with twenty-five bodies from North Brother 
Island. 

The work of embalming the remaining bodies was begun 



170 . THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

early, and by the time tlie. pier had been reopened, seven- 
ty-five bodies had been attended to. 

EMBALMING THE UNIDENTIFIED DEAD. 

This work was given to one undertaker, who, with his 
assistant, worked at the task for more than five hours dur- 
ing the early morning. It was done at the command of 
Commissioner Tully, who, after examining the condition of 
the pier the night previous, deemed it necessary. 

FINDS ONE CHILD^ TWO MISSING. 

Paul Liebernow, of 133 East 125th street, went, to the 
pier and identified the body of his little daughter, Hannah 
Christina. When he reached the coffin and saw the child 
he collapsed and had to be carried to one side and attended 
by one of the Bellevue Hospital assistants, who are con- 
stantly on the pier for just such emergencies as these. 

When he had somewhat recovered, he said that he had 
gone to the picnic with his wife and three children. His 
■wife and he had been saved, 

COULDN^T PULL LIFE PRESERVERS DOWN. 

"We couldn't pull the life -preservers down. They 
wouldn't come out of the racks, and after struggling with 
them for a time we had to give up the attempt. The man- 
ner in which the majority of the men conducted themselves 
w^as brutal and disgusting. They knocked women down 
and trampled upon them in their efforts to reach the rail.'^ 

MISTAKES IN IDENTIFICATION. 

Terrible mistakes, which add to the horror of the situa- 
tion, were made in identifying the bodies. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 171 

William A. Richter, an employee of the Department of 
finance, went to the pier accompanied by A. P. Hill, his 
brother-in-law, of 123 Meserole street, Williamsburg. 

Hill went to the morgue the day before and saw the 
bodies of two little girls who, he was certain, were the 
daughters of Eichter. Eichter was too prostrated to visit 
the pier that night, and when he arrived the next morning 
and was confidently led by Hill to a certain pine coffin 
he was scarcely able to walk unsupported. 

Those in the place noticed that something was wrong, 
for Hill, a surprised look on his face, was leading his 
brother-in-law from coffin to coffin until at last he went to 
an attendant and said that he was unable to find the bodies. 

The attendants tried to tell him that he was mistaken, 
and that it was not Eichter's children after all whom he 
had seen, but Hill was certain that he had been right. 

BEREFT FATHER WANTED TO DIE. 

Edward Screcher, of 144 Essex street, found the body 
of liis nine-year-old daughter, Elsie, among those on the 
pier. The police, noticing his actions on entering the pier, 
watched him closely. 

^Ylien he saw the charred body of his daughter he drew 
a lot of papers from his pocket^ — deeds, bonds and a life 
I insurance policy, his entire fortune, and threw them into 
■ the coffin on his daughter's body. 

"Here's all I have," he said, musingly; "it's no use any 
more," and walked toward one of the sliding doors in the 
side of the pier, where one of the policemen caught him 
and led him to the coroner's temporary office, and afterward 
took him home to get a permit for the removal of the body. 



17^ THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 



CHAPTEE X. 

IN COMMON GRAVE — PLANS TO BURY THE UNIDENTIFIED 

DEAD OE THE SLOCUM — 100 MINISTERS GATHER. f 

At a meeting of clergymen held at the St. Mark's Luth- 
eran Church on East Sixth street resolutions were taken 
regarding the burial of the dead of the General Slocum 
and memorial services, and expressions of sympathy were 
received from ministers representing churches of all de- 
nominations. The Rev. Dr. Joseph J. Herschman, presi- 
dent of the New York State Ministerium^, conducted the 
meeting, which was opened by a prayer by the Eev. Dr. 
Hoffman, of Brooklyn. 

In his opening speech the Eev. Dr. Hoffman said that 
they were gathered together to give an outlet to their feel- 
ings of sorrow, and that he would call on the Eev. Dr. 
Dawald to read a resolution on that subject. The first topic 
then brought up was upon burying the dead, of whom, at 
the very least, said Dr. Herschman, there would be over five 
hundred. On this subject Dr. Joseph Lawton expressed 
the feeling of the meeting that the funerals, whenever pos- 
sible, should be held at the homes of the bereaved fami- 
lies. He hoped that the funerals from the church would 
be of as private a character as possible, in order to avoid! 
the gathering of large assemblies, who might give vent to 
an undue expression of grief. He concluded by making 
an appeal to all ministers of his own or any denomination 



T^E GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 173 

to send their cards offering their services to Dr. Hersch- 
man. 

Dr. Herschman said that among others the Lutheran 
Cemetery had offered a plot in which might be buried all 
who were unidentified or whose relatives were too 
poor to defray funeral expenses. The meeting voted that 
the offer be accepted and that a service be held within a 
few days for the burial of the unidentified. 

Among the first of those who rose to express their feel- 
ings of sympathy and sorrow was Dr. Huntington, of Grace 
Church. He said: 

"I am here to convey to you the Episcopal Church's and 
my personal expression of sorrow, and to extend to you 
whatever aid is in my power and in that of the staff of 
Grace Church." 

Dr. Herschman said: "The brightest ray in this our 
dark hour is the fraternal sjrmpathy not only of Protestant 
churches, but of the Church of Eome.'' 

At this point Rabbi Silverman, of the Temple Emanu-El,' 
arose and said : 

"I come to you as a minister of God to express the sym- 
pathy of my people. We feel and share your loss. It is 
our misfortune, not yours alone. Where we can help we 
must help, and we will help." 

Dr. Herschman thanked Eabbi Silverman heartily. Fol- 
lowing came similar speeches by representatives of the Nor- 
wegian Church, the Howard Methodist Episcopal Church, 
the Confederation of Churches, who offered the services of 
their offices to facilitate the communications between the 
various ministers engaged in the work; the pastor of the 
Presb3i;erian Church on the southeast corner of Second ave- 
nue and Second street, who said that the members of his 
congregation felt that they were more deeply affected by 
the disaster than any of the outside churches, and a repre- 



174 THE GENERAL SLOCU:>I DISASTER. 

sentative of the Eev. Dr. Hippie, of the West One Himdred 
and Fourth Street Methodist Episcopal Chnrch. 

Letters tendering sj-mpathy and assistance from i\.rch- 
bishop Farley and the Presbytery of New York were then 
read. 

One of the most impressive features of the meeting was 
the custom of the Lutheran Church body of casting their 
assenting votes by rising and singing the first verse of the 
German hymn, w^hich, translated, begins : 

"Who knows how near our end may be?" 

The chorus of men's voices without organ or other ac- 
companiment was singularly deep, mellow and impressive. 



THE EXGI^^EER'S STORY. 



conklin"^ of the slocum, tells of the disaster — his 
assistant's bravery. 



Chief Says That Brandow Stood at the Throttle in the 
Midst of the Flames — Says That He Ran the Pumps 
and That He Did Not See Any Hose Burst — Impos- 
sible to Get at the Lifeboats, He Declares, Because of 
Crush Near Them. 

Chief Engineer B. F. Conklin, of the General Slocum, 
who is wanted by Coroner Berry, of the Bronx, to tell his 
story of the disaster^, is ill from the effects of the terrible 
experience through which he passed. Speaking about it 
lie said: 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 175^ 

"I would like to forget that fearful thing if I could, and 
thus far have made no statement about it. I have no theories 
to advance and cannot tell you exactly where the fire started. 
The boat was comfortably filled, though not packed, as we 
were licensed to carry 2,500 passengers and there were about 
1,600 aboard. We proceeded up the bay, and about 10 :30 
o'clock, when we were opposite 138th street, the first mate 
approached me as I was standing in the engine room talk- 
ing to my assistant, Everett Brandow. 

"His face was deathly pale, but though he was excited 
he was not afraid. He said that a fire had been discov- 
ered forward, and I at once ordered him to lay the hose 
while I went to the pumps, first notifying the captain, who 
was in the pilot-house, by calling to him through the 
speaking tube. I told Brandow to stand near the engine- 
and not to leave it, and he obeyed me. 

"In less than a minute water was being poured on the- 
flames, but it did not seem to check them in the least. Two' 
minutes or so later the fire alarm soimded and some one 
on deck cried Tire !' 

"Instantly there was a roar as the terrified passengers 
arose like one person and made a rush for the stern. Never 
shall I forget the horror of that scene and the terrible con- 
fusion that followed. There was no checking that frenzied 
crowd. Most of the crew were busy fighting the fire, and 
those w^ho were on deck were unable to calm the fears of the 
women and children. The captain rang the bell for a full 
head of steam and the boat shot forward like a racehorse. 

"A thick volume of smoke rolled from forward and filled 
the lower part of the boat. I was compelled to cover mj 
mouth and nose with my arm in order to breathe. Mingled 
with the smell of the burning paint and wood was the sick- 
ening odor of burning flesh. The women and children 
rushed about as though bereft of their senses. Mothers. 



170 THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 

grasped their children and rushed to the side of the steamer 
and jumped into the water only to drown. I saw several 
children with their clothing on fire and their mothers vainly 
trying to put out the -flames with their hands. I never saw 
fire spread with such rapidity, and in less time than it has 
taken for me to tell you this, the whole forward part of the 
vessel was in flames. 

"The boat had been newly painted, and this, of course, 
made it burn more rapidly. Those who were on the lower 
deck rushed aft and many children were knocked down and 
trampled to death. Try as I can, it is impossible to erase 
that scene from my memory. When I close my eyes at 
night I can see the struggling crowd, the dead, upturned 
faces and floating bodies. I can yet hear those agonizing 
and piercing screams and feel the scorching flames. 

"I realized that our only safety was to beach the boat, 
and I knew that K'orth Brother Island was the only place 
to do it. We could not turn back and beach on the Mead- 
ows, for we were above them, and I was fearful that we 
might strike a rock in Hell Gate. Had this happened the 
loss of life would have been greater, for no one, not except- 
ing a good swimmer, could have kept afloat in that swift 
water. 

"We had eight lifeboats and two rafts aboard, but it was 
an utter impossibility to get near them, for the crowd was 
so dense about them that it would have taken a hundred 
men to push the frenzied persons aside and launch the 
boats. It all happened so suddenly and the fire spread 
with such rapidity that in less than fifteen minutes after it 
was discovered the boat was in flames from stem to stern. 

"At intervals the captain called through the speaking 
tube asking how the fire was progressing, and Brandow 
kept him informed. I stayed at the pumps, for I did not 
dare to leave them, fearing that they might break down or 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 177 

:stop. When the boat was beached and I left the engine- 
room they were still working. If the hose was rotten and 
burst, as has been stated, I knew nothing of it, for the 
pumps worked regularly. 

"It has also been said that the life preservers were old 
and rotten. We carried a full complement of preservers. 
They were such as are required by law, and if they were not 
sound and in the condition they should have been, then it is 
up to the inspectors, for the boat had been inspected only a 
short time before the fire, and everything was pronounced 
all right. 

"Just before the Slocum was beached the engine-room 
was in flames, and the large mirrors in it fell with a crash. 
I looked for Brandow, and he was still standing near the 
throttle, with the flames all about him. The heat was in- 
tense, but I did not seem to feel it much. 

"When the boat grounded there v/as a terrible crash as the 
upper decks gave way, and for a moment I felt sick, for I 
knew that many people were caught beneath it. Brandow 
stopped his engines and we made our way with difficulty 
aft. Here there were a number of women and children 
who beseeched us piteously to save them. I did my best to 
calm them and told them they must jump overboard. Just 
then a tug came up alongside, and a rush was made for it. 

"I was carried over with the rest and fell underneath the 
struggling mass. I arose, and when I reached the shore I 
saw Captain Van Schaiek and Pilot Van Wart standing in 
the water taking out bodies which were floating all around 
us. I assisted in the work as long as I could. Brandow 
was badly burned about the head and neck, but he escaped. 
He and I were the last of the crew to leave the boat." 



178 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 



CHAPTER XL 



THE GREAT BURIAL DAY. 



Saturday, June 18th, was Black Saturday in the Parish 
of St. Mark's Church, on the East Side, as it was the day 
selected by a large number for the burial of their dead. 

Streets were given over wholly to the funerals of the dead 
of the Slocum disaster, and barred to all other, traffic. A 
hundred houses were filled with mourning men, women and 
children ; every hearse and funeral coach that could be gath- 
ered from all the boroughs of Greater New York and from 
far-away New Jersey packed the streets of the tiny parish, 
or moved in slow procession across the new East River 
Bridge toward the Lutheran Cemetery. 

The day and the scenes that made it memorable will 
never be forgotten by the people of New York; the scar it 
has left is ineffaceable. 

To one who passed through the streets of the stricken 
village hidden away on the East Side and comprising 
within its area less than ten squares, the impression was 
strangely weird and unreal. New York has been sadly 
stricken before, but never has a blow of this sort fallen 
with such fearful force upon an area so narrow and re- 
stricted. 

This very fact had the effect of adding to the deep, keen 
intensity of the grief of the sorrowing people of the Parish. 
of St. Mark's. Their griefs and sorrows were interlaced 



THE GENERAL SL0CU:M DISASTER. 181' 

in one complete web of woe, and the entire section lay be- 
neath a single pall. 

STREETS HEARSE-FILLED. 

More than a hundred funerals were held in the Parish of 
St. Mark's, and the streets were filled from early morning 
until late at night with passing hearses. Such was the 
strange and unusual condition brought about by the great 
number of dead and the scarcity of hearses that no definite 
hour could be determined upon for the funeral services, 
and the mourning relatives and friends were forced to wait 
by the side of the dead until a hearse or train of carriages 
returning from the Lutheran Cemetery made it possible for 
the body to be removed. 

Little white hearses, bearing, in many cases, two and 
three white caskets, marked the saddest phase of St. Mark's 
Black Saturday, for the children who died in the holocaust 
far outnumbered the women, while only twenty-three men 
met death. 

The Parish of St. Mark's was given up wholly to the 
burial of its dead. There was but little business transacted. 
The streets were made gloomy by masses of black across 
the fronts of the buildings, while the hundreds of half- 
masted flags were almost covered with crepe. Every street 
was thronged with people who stood about the houses from 
which the bodies were being brought. 

SOME VICTIMS NEVER FOUND. 

Frequently they noted a single carriage following two 
or more hearses, the carriage containing a father and hus- 
band whose entire family had been wiped out by the catas- 
trophe. In scores of cases the grief of the survivors follow- 
ing their dead was made bitter by the fact that the dead 



18^ THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

they followed to the cemetery were but a part of their loss, 
and that others as dearly loved had never been found. 

There were rows of dwellings in the Parish of St. Mark's 
wdth a hearse at every door. In some houses a burial serv- 
ice was being read on every floor, and the hearses stood 
before the door three and four deep. 

The day was dominated by grief and the sincere, tender 
pity of those in touch with the sorrows of the bereaved. 
Eearded men standing at their closed shop doors bowed 
their heads and wiped away the tears that started to their 
63^8. Women of another l-ace and religion from those 
afflicted clasped their children to their arms and wept loudly 
as the long line of little white hearses passed them. 

Into the very heart of the grief-stricken parish passed the 
funeral procession of the unidentified dead early in the af- 
ternoon, and hundreds who had been unable to find trace 
of the dear dead followed the two tiny v/hite hearses and 
fourteen black hearses as they moved slowly toward the 
church, throwing the flowers they bore under the feet of the 
horses and beneath the wheels. 

A great throng of sobbing women crowded around these 
hearses containing the bodies of those they fondly believed 
to be their own children or relatives, and the scenes here 
were the saddest of the day. 

The funerals began at 8 o'clock in the morning through- 
out the parish. Within an hour services had been read 
over twenty-eight bodies, and the stream of hearses and 
.carriages began to move toward the new Williamsburg 
Bridge. In a short time the outgoing funerals met those 
returning to the city, where the hearses would be filled 
again with the bodies of other victims and hurried away to 
the cemetery. 

Over the entire parish there resounded throughout the 
'<day the sad, mournful strains of the Lutheran funeral 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 183 

liymn, ''What God Does is Well Done." There were many 
bands scattered throughout the parish, "playing the soul of 
the dead away/' as the German expression is, and many 
women who had restrained their emotion bravely, broke 
do\m and burst into loud sobs as the music brought home 
to them with renewed force the affliction that had fallen 
upon them. 

Clerg}mien from all over Greater New York and from 
towns and villages in New Jersey were present, going about 
from house to house to conduct the services for the dead. 

Services, as a rule, were most simple. Only a prayer, 
the reading of the Scriptures and the benediction were used 
in most cases, even where the minister faced three and even 
four caskets containing members of one family. It was 
the general wish that this should be so. The grief of the 
German district does not find outlet in ceremonial of an 
elaborate character. 

Throughout the day streets in the vicinity of St. Mark's 
Church were crowded. Many of the crowd were of the mor- 
bidly curious kind, but as many more were mourners ; weep- 
ing women and children, and silent, heavy-eyed men were 
there to behold the last of life-long friends and acquaint- 
ances. Evidences of mourning were everywhere. From al- 
most every house, not alone the crape on the door told of 
grief, but black-draped American and German flags and 
long streamers of black and purple and white swung from 
windows. In the windows of shops were black-bordered 
cards bearing in German and English the legend: "We 
mourn the loss of our beloved," or "We mourn our loss." 

KEEPING BACK THE CROWDS. 

The police arrangements were perfect. Early in the day 
Inspector Schmittberger, having under him twenty-three 
sergeants, ten roundsmen and 400 policemen, divided his 



184 THE GEjS-EUAL SLOCUM DiSASTEPt. 

force into squads of eleven — ten men and an officer — and 
there was a squad for each funeral during the day to keep 
back the crowds and to force passageways for the proces- 
sions as they wound in and out of the streets. 

But there was no hard work for them to do. The crowds 
were most easily handled. It seemed as if all who came 
within the borders of the territory were transformed into 
solemn, awestruck men, women and children. Silently the 
spectators lined curbs and sidewalks by the hour to see the 
hearses pass and repass. Only occasionally would a police- 
man have anything to do, and that would be perhaps when 
some man or woman would step out from the crowd, mut- 
tering incoherent words which told of overtaxed nerves. 

Chief of the funerals perhaps was that of Mrs. Haas, 
wife of the pastor of the little church which has suffered 
so much. The old-fashioned parsonage in Seventh street, 
just back of the church, was crowded by friends and repre- 
sentatives among the clergy. The floral decorations were 
profuse; tokens from ministers of every denomination of 
the city, as well as friends. 

Mr. Haas, whose nervous condition has been such that 
fears were entertained for his recovery, was led into the 
parlor, and a moment later Miss Emma Haas, sister of the 
minister, herself still suffering from the effects of her ex- 
perience, was carried downstairs on a stretcher and placed 
beside the chair on which her brother sat. 

SAD NEWS AT FUNERAL. 

The Eev. Dr. Alexander Eichter, of St. Matthew's- 
Church, Hoboken, was in charge of the services and 
preached a sermon that dealt with resignation. The Rev. 
Dr. Joseph Loch, of Brooklyn, read the Scriptures, and 
the Rev. Dr. Herschman, president of the Ministerium,, 
and the Rev. Dr. Hugo Hoffman, offered prayers. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 185 

Only once were the services interriipted, and that was 
when a messenger called one of the ministers present aside, 
and after a whispered consultation it was announced to the 
brother and sister already stricken, that but a moment be- 
fore a body at the Morgue had been identified as that of 
Mrs. Tetamore, Mrs. Haas' sister. With the authorities 
assisting in every way the body was at once brought to the 
house, and an hour later, when the funeral procession 
started there were two hearses, and the sisters were buried 
together. 

Outside in the other streets, before the Haas funeral and 
afterward, funeral services were being conducted on every 
hand. At 85 East Third street, for instance, there was the 
funeral of three children — Gertrude, Annie and Henrietta 
Prawdsicki. Later in the day one hearse was used for as 
many as three small caskets, but in the case of the Prawd- 
sicki children there were three hearses, preceded by an open 
barouche filled with flowers and followed by ten coaches, 
with the grief -stricken father. 

The body of the mother of the children had not yet been 
found. At 171 Avenue A there were the funerals of the 
three Michaels children. From 532 Fifth street came four 
of the Weiss children. There had been sixteen members 
of the family on the fateful excursion. Three members of 
the Kopf family were taken from 377 East Ninth street. 
From 506 Sixth street came a casket bearing the body of 
an infant member of the Keisler family, and on the stairs 
of the house was met another procession bearing the bodies 
of two members of the Eosenhardt family. 

FIVE DEAD IN ONE HOUSE. 

Thus it was throughout the district, and if anything was 
needed to show the intensity of feeling it was when five dead 



186, THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

Were being taken at the same moment from 88 and 90 Ave- 
nue A and from across the street. 

Not a half hour later came another shock to the crowds., 
and this perhaps was the greatest of the day. Down Second 
avenue, moving slowly, came a procession of fourteeni 
hearses, followed by one carriage containing two men. At 
the head a black hearse bore a black casket of an adult and 
at its side a tiny white one. At the Morgue the ticket had 
read: "Unidentified woman found with child clasped irt 
her arms." 

Behind this came several black hearses and then one of 
white in which side by side were three white caskets. An- 
other interval of black and another white hearse bearing 
two, a black hearse bearing two, another mother and child,, 
and so on through the fourteen. 

IN AWE BEFORE PROCESSION. 

Straight down the avenue from the Morgue the proces- 
sion had come slowly, and just as slowly it turned through 
Sixth street. If the crowd had been silent before it was 
now almost immovable. Only here and there as the proces- 
sion passed could be heard a half-stifled "Ah !" as some 
woman or man sank on the pavement in prayer or in a 
fit of weeping. Through Sixth street to First avenue went 
the procession, down First avenue to Fifth street, and so 
on east and south to Delancey street, where was the entrance 
to the Williamsburg Bridge. It was almost the climax 
of the day's strain, but the police anticipated even more 
distressing scenes, for many more remained to be buried 
throughout the district. 

In one instance, that of the Richter family, there were 
six bodies awaiting the coming of the hearses. There were 
three in some other families, four in one instance. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 187 

The bodies were buried in the Lutheran Cemeter}^ at Mid- 
dle Village, L. I., and the way for all of the processions 
was across the Williamsburg Bridge. From nine o^clock to- 
five the processions were almost continuous across the struc- 
ture, and the sight was witnessed by thousands of the East 
Side who filled Delancey street and other thoroughfares,, t 

For the unidentified dead and the poorest, the cemetery 
trustees had provided a plot 250 feet square, and in this- 
the twenty-nine bodies were buried. The others were scat- 
tered all over the cemetery. There was a profusion of flow- 
ers everywhere, for societies, churches and individuals had 
been most generous. The order at the cemetery was per- 
fect. There was no confusion. There were no services 
there. 

A TRIPLE FUNERAL FROM GRACE CHURCH^ ON BROADWAY. 

A black hearse, a white hearse and a black hearse trimmed 
with white, standing in front of Grace Church, on Broad- 
way, made the hurrying business man and the shopper 
pause and think again of the awful disaster. It was a 
triple funeral of Mrs. Minnie Stoss, her daughter Edna,, 
and her nephew, Teopil Kawezynski. The usual Episco- 
pal service for the dead was read by Dr. Huntington, a 
vested choir sang the anthem, "Lord, Thou Hast Been Our 
Eefuge^^ and "I Heard a Voice from Heaven," and the 
benediction was followed by Stainer's Grand Amen. The 
tops of the three caskets were completely hidden by flowers, 
and another open carriage carried the floral offerings of 
friends. 

Trebly afflicted in the loss of his mother and his onl}^ 
child, and in the precarious condition of his wife, Frederick 
Klenen, of 1391 Washington avenue. The Bronx, was the 
principal mourner at funeral pervicos for Mrs. Xeta Klenen^ 



188 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

56 years old, and Ethel Klenen, 1 year, at the Merritt un- 
dertaking parlors, Nineteenth street and Eighth avenue, 
Manhattan. Mrs. Frederick Klenen, who was saved from 
the river, badly burned, is a patient at Lebanon Hospital, 
her condition being so serious that she has not been in- 
formed of the death of her baby daughter and its grand- 
mother. The funeral was attended by a large number of 
friends and relatives of the family, and among the mourners 
were a number of survivors of the disaster. The Eev. 
Henry Stoup, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, of 
East 119th street, Manhattan, conducted the simple serv- 
ices at the chapel, and the burial service at the Lutheran 
€emetery. There were many flowers, in clusters and in 
set pieces. Four small boys acted as pall-bearers for the 
child, and the bodies were borne away in a white and a 
black hearse. 

One of the largest funerals was that of John L. Brun- 
ing and his wife, Anna E., from their late home at 216 East 
Twelfth street, Manhattan. About the house there was 
none of that maudlin curiosity which pervaded the streets 
farther down town. The services were conducted by the 
Eev. Jacob Schlegel. 

SCENES AT THE CEMETERY. 

A scene unrivaled in the history of the German Lutheran 
burying ground at Little Village, L. L, or perhaps any 
burial ground of the country, was witnessed by a concourse 
ot fully 15,000 people, when 178 victims of the General 
Slocum disaster were buried. 

There were 138 bodies interred outside of the 29 un- 
claimed bodies, and 11 were placed in vaults, making a 
lotal of 178 bodies that passed through the gates of the 
cemetery from early morning until sunset. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 189 



PRAYERS BY A GRAVE DIGGER. 

At some of the graves there was no officiating clergyman. 
After the bodies were lowered an old grave digger picked 
up a handful of dirt, tossed it upon the coffin-box, and re- 
peated a simple burial prayer. Outside of the Rev. Mr. 
Haas, who came to the cemetery for the burial of his wife,, 
the Eev. Dr. E. W. Peterson was the only minister present. 

Next day in the little chapel in the cemetery the Rev. 
Dr. Peterson held a memorial service for all of the bodies 
buried the day before in the cemetery, and the cemetery was 
overwhelmed with many thousands of relatives, friends and 
sightseers. 

The first funeral to enter the gates of the cemetery was 
that of George, Emily and Frederick Stahl, the three chil- 
dren of Andrew Stahl. Lillie was never found, and the 
father gazed mournfully at the procession of unclaimed 
dead that followed, wondering if the body of his little one 
was among them. At the grave Mary, another child, fell 
unconscious, and the mother and father were helped away 
in a prostrated condition by friends. Tears came to the 
eyes of those assembled about the grave as the mother 
shrieked aloud in her grief. 

HEARSES WERE DELAYED. 

In accordance with the German custom, many of the fun- 
eral parties adjourned to nearby hotels and partook of food 
and refreshments. The throng inside the hotels, the 
hearses and carriages standing in rows and groups outside, 
the assemblages of sympathizing women about the child 
mourners all combined to make a scene not soon forgotten. 
At nightfall many of the hearses and carriages had not re- 
turned to the city. 



190 THE GENERAL 3L0CU.M DiSAST:ER. 

To meet the unexpected number of dead Superintendent 
Bavid Avenus, of the Lutheran Burying Ground, was ob- 
liged to enlist stone cutters, florists, teamsters and men of 
other occupations to fill the role of grave diggers. Fully 
160 grave diggers worked from 8 o'clock in the morning 
until 6 o'clock at night, when they were relieved. .' 

Thomas Leiteh, the clerk in charge of the burying- 

groimd during the past twenty-three years, has seen over 

30,000 funerals pass the gates, but yesterday he was so 

oTerconl^ hj the General Slocum disaster that he would not 

look out of the window at the continuous procession of 

whiit^ and black hearses and carriages. 'i 

^-Heaairending and pathetic in the extreme was the burial 
fof the lUinrecognized bodies — twenty-nine in all. There 
'V/ere nine babies, and all went in fourteen hearses. There 
were not enough white hearses for the little white coffins 
of the babies, so some of the white coffins had to go in the 
black hearses. 

There were no mourners to follow -the fourteen hearses 
-with unrecognized bodies. The bodies of the babies came 
to the cemetery without anyone following to mourn for 
ihem. There was a single carriage following the last hearse 
of this sad procession. In it were the officers of the 
morgue. 

An old woman sat weeping at the curb near Second 
avenue and Sixth street. "Perhaps my baby is in one of 
them coffins !" she wailed. 

There were other sorrowing mothers and fathers who 
watched with weeping eyes the progress of the fourteen 
hearses. The street on each side was lined with thousands 
of persons, from the morgue down Second avenue to Sixth 
street, and along First avenue to Rivington street and the 
new bridge. At the cemetery the Eev. E. W. Peterson read 
-.the burial service. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 19l 

m SILENT WOE THE PEOPLE OF ST. MARK'S 

MEET. 



GRIEF BREAKS FORTH AT SIGHT OF MR. HAAS. 



ITand of Death on Homes of Pastor, Organist and Sing- 
ers — Congregation Gathers to Mour7i Its Lost. 

Infinitely sad and impressive were the memorial services 
in St. Mark's Church on Sunday morning. Outside the 
idoors the funeral trains rumbled, and the curious crowds 
passed and repassed with pitiful glances at the fluttering 
emblems of death. 

Long before the church doors opened, squads of police 
formed along the block to keep the crowds in check. But 
iheir presence was unnecessary. The people were quiet and 
orderly, as all sorrow-stricken throngs are. 

Here and there among the crowds men passed bearing 
ilowers for the dead. Beautiful wreaths, pillows of white 
roses, open gates of fragrant lilies, broken columns and 
•angels with outspread wings were everywhere. There was 
at least a tender touch of comfort in this. 

Two or three hearses stood in front of the old church, 
and through the closed shutters above came the sound of 
wailing voices and of prayers for the dead. 

The old church itself was almost devoid of mourning em- 
blems within. The pews were gaunt and crypt-like in their 
empty desolation, the walls were undraped and the altar, 
behind which was uplifted the crucified Christ, was naked 
and bare. On the lectern only were a few black bows. 

It was fitting that it should be so, for the grief which has 
fallen upon the church is too deep for ostentation. On 
the stone steps of the narrow areaway outside, wretched 



19S THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

figures sat weeping, while about them stood crowds of won- 
dering children with bands of black crepe around their arms. 
]S[owhere could be found the semblance or suggestion of a 
smile or a light heart. 

CONGREGITION GATHERS SADLY. 

With almost the quietness of death itself the crowd 
drifted into the church. They came like ghosts, sad and 
hollow-eyed with sorrow. It was an impressive thing to 
watch this slow cumulation of a common grief. 

One by one they would enter the darkened pews and at 
once bend forward on the railings in deep and silent prayer. 
Everywhere there was the reverent solemnity of a voiceless 
grief. 

There came a German laboring man through the doors. 
He was in his working clothes, soiled and shabby, ragged 
and awry — just as he had probably worn them night and 
day since the burning of the Slocum. But the dignity of a 
great sorrow ennobled him. The well-dressed made way 
for him, and he sank into a pew, and buried his face in an 
old red handkerchief. 

Seldom during the services did he open his eyes. Those 
who were near-by would have thought him asleep had they 
not noted the convulsive heaving of his breast and his 
tensely clenched hands. 

"He lost his entire family — his wife and four little chil- 
dren," said somebody who knew him. 

A group of little girls dressed in white, with bands of 
mourning on their sleeves, entered a pew and knelt in sup- 
plication, which ended in an outburst of weeping. They 
were survivors of the disaster. They choked and stammered 
beneath their breath, and it was some time before they could 
compose themselves. 

The church filled slowly, as most of the regular mem- 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 193 

l)ers were attending funerals. In fact, many of the pews 
were empty and there were not half a dozen persons in the 
gallery. Here were the bare branches of a church tree, 
from which death had stripped away the leaves. 

Suddenly from the far distance there came the sound of 
church bells. Somebody in one of the shadowy pews sobbed. 
At that moment it would have taken only the weight of a 
few words to have sent the entire congregation — ^menj, 
women and cliildren — into -a wild storm of grief. 

PALL OF DEATH ON ALL. 

Por these things were in their thoughts : 

Here there would be no sound of bells, for the sexton 
had perished. 

Here there would be no sermon, for the pastor was 
stricken. 

Here there would be no music, for the player was gone. 

Here there would be no songs, for the singers were dead. 

While the bells were pealing, Pastor Deering, of the 
State Street Lutheran Church, entered. He paused 
at the door, with streaming eyes, and it was many minutes 
before he could master his emotion. He was supported by 
one of the ushers as he walked down the aisle. 

The services were conducted by Pastor Holstein, a former 
Lutheran minister of Brooklju. They were extremely sim- 
ple, consisting only of reading and prayer. There was no 
effort to efface sorrow by oblivion, but to soothe it by hope. 
But it is hard to solace a grief which stares into an open 
grave. 

When the minister entered through the little door near 
the altar he faced a congregation as quiet as the tomb.! 
Por a few moments he looked fixedly at the mute crowd 
before him, and in his gaze there was a tremendous strug- 
gle. He was facing men who had lost their wives, mothers ^ 



I94s THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

who had lost their darlings^ and children who had lost their 
pla3raiates. To him they were looking for comfort. Dr. 
Holstein began by reading a poem entitled "Who Knows 
How Near Is My End?" 

He had scarcely finished when the vestry door slowly 
i opened and there appeared the figure of a man swathed 
in bandages and walking with weak and -uncertain steps. 

PENT-UP GRIEF BREAKS FORTH. 

It was the Eev. Dr. Haas, the pastor of the church. The 
congregation slowly rose to a standing position as the pas- 
tor, supported by his brother and his son, made his way 
to a front pew. 

Then the long pent-up storm of emotion broke. From 
all directions came the sound of weeping, of sobs low and 
heartbreaking, sobs childish and tearful, sobs dry and hard 
and terrible. 

It was an outburst of sympathy and sorrow such as is 
seldom seen. The pastor sat silent and motionless as one 
in a dream while Dr. Holstein read the entire fourteenth 
chapter of St. John, the Thirty-ninth Psalm, the First 
Epistle of Peter, chapter v, verses 6 to 11, and the 11th 
chapter of Revelations from verse 19th to the end. 

Then, with the congregation standing, prayers for the 
afflicted were recited, after which Dr. Hoktein solemnly- 
pronounced the benediction. 

The congregation made no move for the doors until the 
black-clad form of the minister had disappeared through 
the vestry door. 

Then as the doors were opened and the people began to 
file out they were again confronted by the rumbling funeral 
trains and the sound of the solemn chanting from the 
houses where lay the dead. 

The transition came upon them as a ghock. 




Diagram of the course taken by Captain Van Schaick from the 
moment he discovered the fire until he beached his boat 
south of Eikers Island. The solid line shows the course 
sailed. The dotted lines and stars show the spots where, 
according to river men, the captain could have beached his 
boat and saved much time. 



195 



THE GENEEAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 197 



CHAPTER XII, 

DARING DEEDS OF HEROES. 

The complete story of this great disaster would not be 
told unless some of the daring deeds performed on that 
day were recorded. The following are only a few instances 
where great deeds of heroism were performed, and where 
men and women have shown that they are willing to die 
if need be in the effort to save life : 

Of the few hundred who were saved most owe their pres- 
ervation to the courage of unselfish men and women. Boys 
and girls scarcely more than children themselves bore their 
parts nobly, as witness the youthful apprentice who saved 
twenty-two lives and the nursegirl intrusted with two babes 
who swam for the first time in her life and brought her 
charges safely to the shore. 

Hell Gate had a Jim Bludso of its own, who risked his 
life and all that he had, a smoky little tug. 

There were experienced pilots and captains who went 
about the work of rescue like trained life-savers; firemen 
leaped into the waters in their heavy clothing and police- 
men from stations far and near rowed in whatever boats 
they could find to help in the work of rescue. 

Heroes in every walk of life may be found on the roll, 
and the record of the darkest day in the history of New 
York Harbor is brightened by golden letters which tell of 
high courage and supreme devotion. Those who may have 
the task of finding those who are entitled to rewards from. 



tt98 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

a hero fund will have many candidates from whom to 
choose. 

EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD BOY SAVES THE LIVES OF TWENTY- 
TWO PERSONS. 

Twenty-two lives saved is written opposite the name of 
Charles Schwartz, Jr., machinist's apprentice, eighteen 
years old. His rescues were performed, too, with a break- 
ing heart, for he knew that while he was aiding others his 
mother and grandmother were lying dead on the beach of 
North Brother Island. 

Schwartz is light of frame, yet his skill in swimming has- 
made him well known throughout the East Side. 

"There was not much time to think,'' said he, ^'and as 
soon as I saw what was up I did what I could. I was on 
the hurricane deck of the General Slocum, and when I 
knew that there was a fire the first thing I did was to put 
a life preserver around my little brother Louis, who is ten 
years old, and I got him to stand by me. Then I saw that 
there was going to be a panic, and I thought that in the 
water was the best chance for him, so I threw him over- 
board. Louis is all right. 

"I made a trip down below to see if I could be of any 
help, but I saw that the fire was beyond control, and that 
nobody would work in any kind of system. I noticed thnt 
two or three boats were coming, and I backed up against 
the rail, calling out that there was a good chance, and 
pleading with the passengers to keep cool and not shove. 
The rail went, though, and I tumbled over backward into 
the water. 

"The first person that I saw was Mrs. Addicks, who keeps 
a candy store at No. 53 Avenue A, and she called me by 
name, and I went over and helped her by keeping her chin 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 199 

above water and towing her a little. She got to shore all 
right and was not much hurt. She threw her arms around- 
my neck and kissed me. I got into the water again and 
helped Miss Emma Haas, the sister of the pastor, until a 
boat came to take her, and then I saw my mother and^ 
grandmother. They were floating face downward. I got 
them both ashore and helped the doctors with them on the 
lawn. ^It's no use/ said the doctors, Ve can't do any- 
thing for your people, my boy.' 

"I felt as though my heart would break, and then I 
looked out upon the water and saw that there were yet 
men, women and children who might be saved. A man 
came along in a little boat, and I swam out to him and 
worked with him. I went overboard whenever I could and 
swam up to people and helped them into the boat. Many 
of them grabbed at me, but I was able to keep off enough 
to prevent being dragged down. I felt hands way down in 
the water holding at my feet. Hands caught me every- 
where, and above me was the fire raging and roaring. I 
wish that I had been stronger and could have done more. 

"The stranger in the boat and I brought four or five 
ashore at a time and took them upon the beach. I had 
my clothes off and was able to swim easily, for I kept as 
cool as I could and saved my strength. I learned to swim 
in the public baths, and if it had not been for the practice 
that I got there I would not have been able to do anything. 

"We brought ashore many bodies, too, and not until there 
was no chance of saving anybody did I quit. Counting 
those I either got into the boat or swam out for I saved 
twenty-two. If I had been a stronger fellow I might have 
done a great deal more, but I'm light. I weigh only 123 
stripped. Eather too light, don't you think? 

"Hero ? Oh, I'm nothing like that. I happened to have 
the knack of swimming a little better than some other per- 



200 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

sons^ and so I thought it was my duty to do the best T 
could. Besides, I'm not thinking much of that kind of 
thing with my mother and grandmother lying there in the 
room. I did all I could for them, but the smoke must have 
suffocated them before they were in the water." 

FIREMEN ON THE ZOPHAR MILLS RISKED LIVES TO SAVK 

OTHERS. 

Another medal which will serve as a companion piece to 
the one received last year will perhaps be awarded to Fire- 
man Joseph J. Mooney, who nearly lost his life in saving a 
woman. 

Mooney attracted the attention of the public on June 6, 
1903, when he received the William L. Strong gold medal 
for saving the life of a little girl, Gertrude Schwenneger, 
at a fire at Madison avenue and Sixtieth street. Mayor 
Low presented the medal while the child stood by the side 
of the gallant fireman. 

Only recently Mooney was transferred to the fireboat 
Zophar Mills, and when, on the day of the disaster, she 
steamed up into the East River, dotted with the drowning, 
Mooney could not devote his energy to using lines and boat- 
hooks. He went into the water and brought two women 
to the side of the Zophar Mills. 

In effecting the rescue of the third woman, who weighed 
two hundred pounds, and was all the more unmanageable 
on account of her heavy, water-soaked clothing, Mooney 
made a valiant effort to reach the side of the fireboat. His 
plight was noticed by the other firemen, who threw a rope 
to him. Mooney had strength enough to hold it and was 
drawn over the side of the vessel. 

Restoratives were administered both to the woman and 
lier rescuer. Mooney was able, in the course of a few min-* 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 201 

lites, to resume his duties, but he did not again venture into 
the water. 

Gieorge Lawlor, another fireman, saved a woman by 
swimming after her. Only four living persons were taken 
on board the Zophar Mills. There were seventeen dead 
bodies on her deck. 

Firemen attached to Bronx fire companies took an active 
part in saving the drowning, and many cases are reported 
of their leaping into the water without removing any cloth- 
ing, so eager were they to be of assistance. 

Policemen from all stations aided in the rescue when the 
opportunity offered, and many of them rovv^ed out to the 
vessel in whatever boats they could obtain. 

PLAYED HOSE ON HIM WHILE HE SAVED DROWNING. 

Efficient service was rendered by the Charities boat, the 
Massasoit, of which Captain Frederick W. Parkinson is 
the commander. The captain was trained under his uncle. 
Captain Henry Rick, a veteran Hell Gate pilot. Not only 
did he direct the work of rescue from his post, where it was 
so hot from the flames of the burning wreck that it was al- 
most impossible to remain there, but he helped bring the 
helpless aboard when opportunity offered. Whenever he 
could leave the wheel he sat in the loop of rope swung over 
the side of the Massasoit, aiding in drav/ing up those who 
were struggling in the water. 

The captain speaks in terms of highest praise of the con- 
duct of his crew, mentioning especially his mate, James J. 
Duane, and Albert Rappaport. Duane went out in the 
lifeboat to within a few feet of the burning Slocum and 
was able to work because the captain ordered hose to be 
constantly played on him. He brought in ten persons in 
all. He was in constant danger, owing to the possibility of 
portions of the burning superstructure falling upon him. - 



202 THE GENEKAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

Eappaport went over the side of the Massasoit, and at 
great personal risk saved seven persons. He brought them 
to the side of the steamboat, and they were lifted aboard by 
the engineer and deck hands. 

"The first one I got/' said Eappaport, ^Svas a boy who 
Iclung to me after I got back on board, begging that I would 
not leave him. He said he did not know where to go, as his 
mother was drowned. 

"I was clad only in underclothes, and in a struggle to 
save another boy about thirteen years of age my clothing 
fell about my feet, and it was with great difficulty that I 
was able to get within reach of a heaving line." 

Everywhere on the Massasoit are the evidences of her 
fight with fire. The paint on the upper works of the vessel 
is badly blistered, and the windows of the pilot-house are 
cracked. The Massasoit saved in all forty persons. 

Those who are mentioned in his report for efficient work 
are William M. Hatch, the chief engineer; Nicholas Eyan, 
assistant: James Farrelly, James Caffrey and John Coch- 
rane, firemen, and John Lynch and John Cunningham, 
deck hands. 

MODEST CAPTAIN EICK SAVED MANY FEOM DROWNING. 

No account of the work of rescue can be complete with- 
out the story of the deeds done by the modest captain of 
the Franklin Edson. Not content with directing the ef- 
forts of his crew while he stood in a scorching pilot-house, 
he went overboard after a woman and nearly lost his life in 
doing so. Henry Eick is his name, and for tliirty years 
he has held a pilot's license. All of that time has been 
spent in the service of the city, either in the Health Depart- 
ment or the Department of Charities. The captain is now 
58 years old, but he looks like a man of forty-five. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 203 

"It is difficult to tell what to do in such an emergency 
as that which confronted us in the Slocum disaster/' said 
he. "I had just left the Edson, which had come in at the 
Board of Health pier, at 13 2d street, when I heard five 
whistles from my boat. I was down there in a moment, and 
as I was going across to the Slocum the engineer yelled up 
the tube that he had water in three lines of hose. We soon 
saw that water wasn't needed, but quick work to save lives. 
Everything in the way of life preservers we had went over- 
board, and then the heaving lines. 

"Fifty feet was as near as I thought it safe to go, for 
although the windows of the pilot-house were down in their 
frames I could hear them crackling, and the paint was blis- 
tering on the woodwork. Samuel K. Mills, the engineer, 
and William Balmer, fireman, did fine work. 

"It was hard work in many cases, for there were several 
large and heavy women, whose weight was increased by their 
water-soaked garments. We got all those who came our 
w^ay. Some may think that we ought to have taken the 
rescued ashore right away for medical attention, but I con- 
sidered it best to save as many as we could. I think that 
we got about twenty-five in all. As to how many lived I 
don't know yet; ten, I am certain of, anyway. Six died 
after we got them aboard, although we did what we could 
to revive them. My crew did a splendid work. Don't for- 
get to mention Andrew Andrews and Frank Lagarda, deck 
hands. They are good boys." 

"How about the woman for whom you went overboard?" 

"She was dead when I got her aboard, as near as I can 
make out. Too bad ! I was rather tired out by the time 
she was landed, but I think that she had been suffocated 
hefore she got into the water. What I was able to do was 
no more than any city employee should gladly do. I don't 
want any rewards or any medals. I am too old for that 



204: THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

kind of thing. Once, when I was yonng, maybe, I thought 
of fame, but with the city's boats the picking up of persons 
in distress is part of the business.^' 

TOOK CHILDREN AND MAN FROM PADDLE-WHEEL. 

Many were the expedients which quick-witted rescuers 
had to bring into play in order to save the panic-stricken 
passengers on the Slocum. Policeman Hubert C. Farrell, 
who saved eight persons, is the subject of a report to Police 
Headquarters. He is attached to the Alexander Avenue 
Station. 

Farrell and James Collins, a special policeman, obtained 
the yawl of the schooner Bayliss, which was at the foot of 
East 137th street. Olaf Jansen and Samuel Patchen, the 
negro steward, went in the boat with them to the burning 
wreck. They found several persons hanging to the paddle- 
wheel. 

"I will never forget that sight," said Farrell, "for above 
us was a furnace of flame. There were passengers who had 
been leaning against the paddle-box on the upper port who 
began to fall off as the fire ate through at their backs. 
Above us was the fire, and the heat was so intense that we 
could scarcely remain there. 

^^Clinging to one of the paddles I saw an old man whose 
head was just above water. I could see that his life was al- : 
most gone. On either shoulder was a little child. They 
were clinging to his neck. I got out into the paddle-wheel, 
finding a footing in the paddles, and standing in that way 
up to my waist in water I leaned forward and first took 
one child and then the other into the boat. The old man 
could not be drawn up as I had done with the children. I 
braced myself with my feet and grabbed him by the collar. 
Then with a quick movement I dislodged his hands. He 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 205 

fought and struggled with all his feeble strength. I be- 
lieve that he thought I was trying to drown him. Down 
he went under the water. Then I got him up through the 
T\4ieel, and he was placed in the boat. 

"It was hotter about that wreck than I ever believed it 
joossible to be.'^ 

ISLAND WOMEN" SWAM AGAIN AND AGAIN TO SHIP. 

Women on North Brother Island, matron, nurses, a tele- 
phone operator, patients, helpers, performed many acts of 
heroism and daring. The sight of helpless babies in the 
stream nerved them with almost superhuman strength. 
Several who could not smm at all learned how that day 
for the first time, so intent were they on errands of 
mercy. 

N"one took a more active part in the work of rescue than 
did Pauline Pelz, who is in the employ of Dr. Watson, one 
of the physicians on the island. She divested herself of 
her outer skirt and shoes and swam out to the vessel. It 
seemed as if she had the strength of ten. She made five 
trips into the water, returning each time with a woman or 
a child. She started to go a sixth time, but was so weak 
from her exertions that she found it impossible to leave the 
beach. 

Miss Lulu McGibbon, a telephone operator, after she had 
* been relieved from her duties in the administration build- 
ing on the island, hurried down to the beach. She swam 
out twice to the vessel and brought back on each trip a 
child. One of the babies was about a year and a half old, 
and the other about three years of age. 

"I often go bathing in the summer time off the island," 
said she, "and the nurses are also accustomed to swimming. 
That gave us some practice for such an emergency as that 
of Wednesday." 



206 THE GENEKAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

Several of the nurses, clad in their white uniforms, waded 
out into the water or assisted in placing ladders and pole& 
within reach of the passengers of the Slocum. 

One of the most remarkable instances of the power of 
devotion to duty over bodily fear is the act of Louise Gal- ' 
ling, a nurse girl from Nutley, N. J., who was on the ex- 
cursion with two babies, one two years old, and the other 
three, the daughters of Mrs. Erkling, of Hoboken. 

"I had no thought," said she, "of what might happen to 
me. I had never swum a stroke in my life, and I didn't 
know the slightest thing about how I should begin. I only 
Imew one thing, and that was that I must save the babies. 
So I took one in each arm and jumped overboard and 
kicked out with my feet and held them up as best I could. 
I did not care whether I could swim or not. I only knew 
that if I didn't I would not save the children. I struggled 
on through the water and got to the shore. I didn't know 
how, and I guess I never will, but I saved the babies." 

MANY DEEDS OF HEROISM PERFORMED BY MEN AND WOMEN 

UNKNOWN. 

No story of the Slocum disaster is complete without that 
of the Unknown Hero who was everywhere. The roll of 
those who did the best they could under circumstances 
which made it impossible to do what they would, is a long 
one. 

Tugboat men speak of a man who was seen struggling 
near the shore of North Brother Island, with three women 
clinging to him. He had a life preserver, and he was 
doing all that he could to keep those who clung to him 
afloat. As he was nearing the shore a fourth woman 
grabbed him, and he slowly began to sink with his three 
charges. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. ^^'^ 

''Don't !" he cried. "Don't. There isn't a chance for 
US if you do that. I can't swim." 

The woman increased her hold. 

"All right," he replied, "we'll do the best we can. We 
will all die together." They were picked up and brought 

to the shore. <. .-u ' 

His act was on a par with the deeds of scores of others 
performed about the shores of North Brother Island on that 
day. There were men who released their hold on floating 
wreckao-e to give women a chance, and young girls who 
calmed^themselves in the frenzy of fright to tear life pre- 
servers from their own bodies to bind them about babies 
whose cries touched their hearts in that awful hour. Many 
a wharf rat, whose name will never be known, did heroic 
work, and fishermen who came and went m light skitts, 
leaving no records of valorous deeds, will not figure m the 
books of those who reward heroism with medals and with 
praise. 

"WHAT'S A TUG TO A HUMAN LIFE?" SAID THE OWNER OF 

THE WADE. 

"He weren't no saint— them engineers 
Is all pretty much alike." 

Sanctity is not the strong card of James L. Wade, owner 
and engineer of the Wade, the blackest and dirtiest little 
tug in all the river, yet nearly a hundred persons, and more, 
would hail this man of grime, in overalls once blue, as an 

angel of light 

He ran the savings of ten years, represented m his tug, 
ashore and used her as a bridge for the Slocum's passen- 

"Damn the tug !" said he. "Let her burn !" For, like 



208 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

Jim Bludso^ Wade does not stop to pick his language. ^^Let 
her stay where she is. What's a tugboat to a human 
life?" 

Wade goes up and down the East Eiver something after 
the manner of a cruising cabman on land, doing odd mari- 
time jobs here and there. He was at N^orth Brother Island 
when he saw the General Slocum draw into view with a 
mass of fire shooting from her forward deck. 

He dived into the engine-room and told the pilot of 
the little tug, Captain Fitzgerald, to make for the burning 
steamboat. 

On deck were Edward Carroll, better known as ^^Reddy," 
and Antonio Marcetti, otherwise "Tony.'' The Wade went 
to the starboard side of the Slocum, getting in between the 
shore and the steamer. Her propeller was fouled by a 
rope, and maneuvering was out of the question. Wade 
ordered that she be run aground, and over this bridge sev- 
enty-eight persons found their way to safety. The heat 
blistered the sides of the deckhouse of the tug and only by 
throwing water over the woodwork occasionally with buck- 
ets was the pilot-house saved from burning. 

Carroll and Marcetti spent little time aboard, for they 
were in the water most of the time. Carroll saved three 
old women and Marcetti a girl. The Irishman was almost 
exhausted in bringing the third woman to the side of the 
tug, but he was finally pulled on board by the captain and 
the engineer. 

Not being able to use his lifeboat Wade presented it to the 
first volunteer life-saver he saw, and he has not seen any- 
thing of the craft since. 

Many people declare that the owner remained at his post 
until the tug was nearly on fire and that his own arms were 
severely scorched. 

Captain Fitzgerald, who was in the pilot-house of the 



1 








mm 

1^ 



Site 






CAPTAIN VAN 8CHAICK OF THE GENEBAL SLOOUMJ 



209 



THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 211 

Wade, also did effective work at the Hoboken fire. The 
Wade was pulled off by the tug Golden Rod while the 
streams of water played by the fireboat Zophar Mills kept 
her from being destroyed. 

SCHEUNING FACED DEATH TO RESCUE FIVE. 

Brief is the official record of John A. Scheuning, a police- 
man attached to the Alexander Avenue Station, who saved 
the lives of five. 

There is time, though, to go beyond the plain tale of the 
blotter, and to relate how he risked his life and courted 
death under the lee of the burning Slocum. 

Scheuning saw the burning steamboat while on duty near 
the water front at 138th street. He commandeered a soda- 
water wagon, in which he was driven to the foot of East 
141st street, where he cut out a boat and pushed into the 
stream. The Slocum was swinging off North Brother Isl- 
and, a floating Tophet, and fanned by the off-shore wind 
the flames swept far out from the port side. 

Scheuning rowed direct to the side of the steamer, 
although the tugboatmen called to him that he was going 
to his death. The heat was so intense when he came within 
a hundred feet of the vessel that he felt the skin blister on 
his face and hands. Burning brands fell about him, and 
dead ahead towered the paddle-box, from which the flames 
were bursting as out of the top of a blast-furnace. 

Scheuning stopped for a moment, and removing his 
blouse soaked it in the water. He threw the garment about' 
his neck and shoulders, thus gaining protection from the 
heat. At the same time Scheuning kept his arms closely to 
his side as he rowed, so as to protect his body as much as 
possible from the glow of the fire. Above him the flames 
were swept out in a sheet which at any time might have 



212 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

been turned down^^ard by a change of the wind, while tne 
falling of blazing timbers were reminders that at any mo- 
ment the structure above might crash down upon him. 

'^There were five faces under that paddle-box/' says 
Scheuning in telling his story, "that told me that it was 
my duty to go in there. I heard voices calling out, ^Mr. 
Policeman, save us !' and I rowed right up to it, although ■ 
I felt my back blistering and had to stop to throw water 
over myself to keep from scorching. Once I got right up 
there, though, the heat wasn't so bad, although the way 
things were falling showed there was no time to be lost." 

Scheuning ran the small boat alongside the paddle-box 
which was well out of the water, and he was able by placing 
one foot in the boat and the other on a paddle to lift into 
the skiff five persons. They grasped the sides of the small 
boat at first and nearly swamped it, but Scheuning, by 
skillful balancing, was able to save three women and two 
men, whom he rowed in safety to a barge. 

Those whom he took from the paddle-box were Barbara 
Darhoffer, of 121 Avenue A; Barbara Becker, of 1157 
Third avenue; Annie Kipp, of 1894 Lexington avenue; An- 
drew Zimmer, of 17 East Third street, and an unlaiown 
man. 

Scheuning, '^in the line of police duty,'^ then brought 
ashore thirteen bodies and devoted the rest of the day to 
assisting the Coroner in tagging 171 of the dead. His 
exploit of going so close to the Siocum was the cause of 
others venturing to the aid of the distressed, despite the 
intense heat. 

DECKHAND SAVED OTHERS UNTIL HE FELL FROM EXHAUS- 
TION. 

Those who have seen many brave deeds performed in the 
w^aters of New York Harbor say that the courage and de- 



THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 213 

Yotion of at least one member of the crew of the General 
Slocnm exceeded anything which they ever beheld. Wil- 
liam R. Trembly was his name, and for a few weeks he 
had been a deckhand on the vessel. He was not accustomed 
to the water and he had back of him no experience in the 
harbor, such as had the veterans of the Hell Gate fleet, who 
did such efficient service. "I\e seen many courageous and 
devoted acts done in my time," said Captain Parkinson,, 
of the Massasoit, in speaking of the conduct of the deck- 
hand of the Slocum, "but the way that man acted should 
entitle him to all the medals which may be coming his way. 
The first thing that I saw was his leap from the side of 
the Slocum right out of a nest of flames. He swam ashore 
again and again with women, and the way he saved his 
strength and the cool manner in which he acted were such. 
as to win the admiration of every man who saw him. 

"There wasn't much time, either, to watch others on a 
day like last Wednesday. His last exploit was to bring in 
three children at a time. How he did it I'm sure I don't 
know. He had two in his arms and a woman lowered a 
third to him. 

"He swam with one child in his teeth, steadying himself 
and going slowly to save his strength. I could see that he 
was pretty nearly gone, and when I got another glimpse of 
him he v»^as coming in to the shore. 

"A woman clutched at him as he went past and he 
seemed to be saying something to her. He got the three 
children to safety and then I saw him staggering on the 
shore. The woman was still pleading. He was unsteady on 
his pins by that time and he barely had the strength to 
stand ; but he was still game. He started toward her ; then, 
his hands went up and he fell over backward on the beach 
like a dead man. He had worked to the very limit. I 
saw him afterward stretched out on the lav/n on North 



214 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

Brother Island, and he was about as near a corpse as a 
man can well be and be alive/' 

Trembly was taken later to the Alexander Avenue Police 
Station, where he told his story and then went to sleep on 
the station house floor. 

He said that he heard the first outcry of fire and did all 
that he could to allay the panic. Finally, seeing that noth- 
ing more could be done, he placed life preservers about two 
children and started with them to the shore. A woman 
on the upper deck tore her skirt into strips and with the 
rope which she hastily improvised lowered her child to him, 
hegging that he take it ashore. 

THREE CHILDREN"^ SEPARATED FROM THEIR ELDERS, SAVED 

MANY LIVES. 

Children unable to reach life preservers above their 
heads and in many cases left without any older person near 
them were active in helping not only those younger than 
themselves but even went to the aid of their elders. 

There was, for instance, Peter Wingerter, a boy of 13, 
who lives at 516 Fifth street. He found on the upper 
deck four babies which had been deserted by their par- 
ents. He remained on board the boat, although scores were 
dropping into the water all about him, and witli his own 
hands passed the two babies to the deck of a tugboat. 

Then, with two infants under his left arm, the boy slid 
down a stanchion to the main deck, where he passed his 
charges to men in a rowboat. A woman threw her baby 
into the stream and the boy dived overboard after it. As he 
was going under the water a man who supposed that the 
boy was drowning pulled him out. Wingerter fought with 
his rescuer, who restrained him from again risking his 
life. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 215 

Then there was William McGaffrey, 14 years old, who 
tossed a dazed girl aboard a tug and swam to the shore 
himself. On reaching North Brother Island he went out 
again into the water and rescued three exhausted men who 
were about to drown, in the shallows. 

Among children who are mentioned on the roll of honor 
which illumines a dark day of tragedy is Arthur Link, of 71 
Avenue A. On the upper deck a frightened woman was 
about to leap into the water with her baby. 

"If you can't swim," said he, "give me that baby." She 
passed the child over to him and jumped. 

The boy placed the child on a camp-chair, which he 
braced against a stanchion to keep the infant from being 
crushed. When he felt that the deck beneath his feet v,^as 
giving way he tucked the baby under his arm and struck 
out for the shore, keeping himself afloat with one hand. 

His burden was too much for his strength and he was 
about to go under when a man in a skiff relieved him of 
the child. 

"Don't mind me/' called the boy. "I can keep up all 
right. Take care of the baby." 



VALOROUS DEEDS DONE BY HARBOR POLICEMEN KELK AND 

VAN TASSELL. 

Two policemen of the Harbor Squad, Van Tassell and 
Xelk, who were trained under Elbert 0. Smith, the present 
inspector, who was formerly in command of the marine 
department of the police force, did valorous v/ork on the 
day of the Slocum disaster. They had been detailed to 
look after the safety of passengers, and although the con- 
ditions were beyond all control, they acted as though they 
were in command. 



216 THE GENERAL SLOCiJ.M DISASTER. 

Van Tassell was disabled and Kelk was among the last 
to leave the doomed vessel. The two men stood on the 
second deck. They are strong, and their muscles are well 
trained by rowing in the harbor. From their position they 
threw women and children into the tugs which braved the 
danger and the blistering heat. Van Tassell was knocked 
tmconscions when the hurricane deck fell, for the body of 
a woman struck him on the head. 

He was picked up unconscious from the stream by a^ 
mason employed on Korth Brother Island. As soon as he 
had recovered the use of his senses Van Tassell, who wa& 
in great pain owing to the bruising of the muscles of his 
neck and head, returned to the work of rescue and later 
helped in bringing in the dead. Kelk remained on board 
the Slocum, although his hair was singed and his mustache 
w^as nearly burned from his lip. 

He lost no opportunity to give aid. He placed life pre- 
servers upon children and threw them into the flood; he 
directed the work of tugboatmen who approached the ves- 
sel and kept back the panic-stricken who tried to jump 
into the water when boats which were approaching to their 
aid were only a few feet away. Though the flames burned 
his clothing and blistered his skin Kelk was as calm as 
though he were on parade. 

"As I was standing there/^ said Kelk, in speaking of 
the experience of the day, "a woman came rushing toward 
me with her skirts in a blaze. There was a baby carriage 
standing near, in v/hich there was a heavy blanket. I seized 
the blanket, threw it around the woman and rolled her 
on the deck imtil the flames were extinguished. She 
jumped overboard then, and whether she was saved or notj, 
I do not know." 

That was only one incident which shows how quickly" 
things were done on that day. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 217 

HOSE THAT FAILED. 

DIVERS BRING UP CANVAS TUBE FROM SLOCUM WRECK. 

Much evidence touching the origin of the fire on the 
General Slocum and the conditions which prevailed on 
hoard her has been collected. Part of this was secured by 
the wreckers working about the hulk; part was in the form 
of statements made by men who were on board. These tend 
to show that the vessel was on fire much earlier than had 
previously been supposed, and that the officers and crew 
were acquainted with the fact. 

Five feet of the fire hose of the General Slocum was re- 
covered from the wreck by Diver Tulloch, and turned over 
to Coroner O'Gorman to serve as evidence at the inquest. 
The hose was burned at both ends and on a fold in the 
middle, as though it had never been unreeled. The hose 
is a two and a half inch canvas tube without any rubber 
lining whatever. 

Former Fire Marshal Freel, who examined the section 
of hose, said that while it might serve its purpose if an 
attempt had been made to use it in the case of the Slocum, 
it would be seriously defective if the hose had to be used 
at any considerable range. He said: 

''The rough weave of the canvas on the inside causes a 
considerable loss of force at the nozzle on account of the 
friction with the water. Roughly, in such hose as that the 
loss due to friction would be about forty pounds to a hun- 
dred feet of hose. The hose is porous also, and leaks some- 
,what. That is, it 'sweats,' causing a further loss of power, 
luntn the fiber of the hose swells and makes the coating 
thoroughly impervious to water. That would take about 
ten minutes.'' 



218 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 



STEEL WIRES ON THE BOATS. 

From the sunken vessel one of the starboard steel life- 
boats was also brought up. The boat was still attached to 
the davits, to which it was lashed by steel wires instead of 
ropes. The boat was crumpled up in the middle, as if it 
had been paper, and great gaps had been sprung in its bow. 
but boatmen say it would have been serviceable if it had 
ever been got into the water. 



NEW STORY or FIRE S START. 

Charles H. Lang, of 1843 First avenue, who used to bo 
a lifeguard at Coney Island, says the General Slocum was 
on fire between Fiftieth and Fifty-fifth streets. As a re- 
sult of his statement, made to the police at the Information 
Bureau, he was summoned to appear before the coroner. 

Lang says he was on the upper deck with his wife, his 
brother-in-law and sister-in-law and his 5-year-old son, 
when two of the crew came on that deck and told another 
deckhand, in his hearing, that there was a fire on board. 
Lang says he looked at the Manhattan shore and knew the 
boat was between Fiftieth and Fifty-fifth streets by a 
brewery he recognized. 

He got his family together, he says, told them something 
was wrong, and got them to a place on the boat where the 
crowd was small. 

Just above Eighty-eighth street, he says, he saw an oflBcer 
of the boat, who, he is positive, was the captain, come on 
deck and tell two deckhands there was a fire on board. 

Lang and his family knew how to swim and all escaped^ 
save his cousin, Amelia, whom he is tr3'ing to find. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 219 

JOHN" ENGELMAN^S STORY. 

'John Engelman, of 425 East Twelfth street, stated that 
he jumped from the Slocum at Ninety-second street, and 
that the boat was burning briskly at that time. His story 
was at first received doubtfully, but later was believed. 
He says he worked for a number of years on a New York^ 
New Haven and Hartford Eailroad tug, and knows the 
shore thoroughly. He said: 

"I saw smoke coming up out of the hold when we were 
at Ninety-second street. We were right in the opening of 
Hell Gate and even at that time my knowledge of boat fires 
taught me the Slocum was no place to stay. The fire must 
have been going some time then. The smoke was dense. I 
took hold of my wife and six-year old son and we jumped. 
I managed to swim, with my wife resting on my shoulders, 
to the Long Island shore, but I have not seen my son since 
and I am looking for him.'^ 

Engelman lost two sisters also in the disaster. 

TO REASSURE THE PUBLIC. 

It is possible that every steamboat carrying passengers in 
New York Harbor and neighboring waters may come in for 
a rigid reinspection by the Federal officials, in spite of the 
opposition of Eobert S. Eodie, supervising inspector of this 
district. Mr. Eodie's devotion to the rules and res^ula- 
tions of the department has not been weakened apparently ' 
by the disclosures concerning rotten life preservers and in- 
adequate fire-fighting facilities since the Slocum disaster 
happened. He has declared repeatedly that he saw no 
necessity for another inspection of the excursion vessels and 
that none would be made unless upon the written applica- 
tion of the owners or masters of the boats. 

His attitude has aroused the city officials, who feel thal^ 



230 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

the people will never be satisfied until assured in the moat 
positive manner that every excursion steamer, barge and 
ferryboat plying in these waters is properly equipped for the 
protection of life in case of an accident. 

; The following letter was sent to Secretary Cortelyou 

I hy Mayor McClellan : 

"The awful calamity which has befallen the city in the 
loss of the lives of so many hundreds of its inhabitants 
while on board the steamer General Slocum in the Sound 
-on the 15th instant, impels me to invite 3^our attention to 
the propriety of an immediate inspection by the United 
States Government of all passenger-carrying boats in the 
waters adjacent to New York City. 

! "The lack of jurisdiction in the city authorities makes 
[it impossible for us to protect our citizens from such dan- 
'gers. 

■ "I would, therefore, urge that when making your inves- 
tigation into the causes which operated to produce this re- 
cent calamity, you extend its scope as I have suggested. 

"The season for this kind of traffic is now opening, and 
the tranquillity of the public mind, the security of life and 
even the interests of the traffic itself, call for immediate 
action. 

"iinticipating your compliance with this suggestion, if a 
modification of existing regulations should be undertaken 
the experts of the Fire, Health and Building Departments 
of the city will, if desired, be placed at your service to facili- 
tate and expedite the work." 

EXCURSION BUSINESS HARD HIT. 

The steamboat owners themselves, it is said, will be 
driven to ask for another inspection of their vessels if Sec- 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 221 

retary Cortelyou does not act upon the Mayor's request. 
The Slocum accident has had a disastrous effect upon their 
business, many excursions having been declared off and 
thousands of people refusing to patronize the boats until 
assured that they are properly equipped. Nothing will re- 
store the confidence of the public except thorough tests of 
all apparatus. 

Many Brooklyn church excursions which were to be held 
were abandoned, while those which took place were very 
slimly attended. The Good Shepherd, Nativity and St. 
Mark's Episcopal churches had a joint excursion on the 
Eichmond of the Starin Line, but there were only 350 pas- 
sengers, not a third of the usual number. 

Less than 300 attended the excursion of the New York 
Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church on the steamer Cyg- 
nus. The Grand Eepublic carried only 264 members of the 
Union League, successor to the Brooklyn Chautauqua, on 
the annual excursion up the Hudson, although in the past 
the attendance has generally reached 1,000. 

St. Peter's Sunday School excursion has been abandoned. 

ALL THE INQUIRIES. 

It was said officially that the Federal investigation into 
the Slocum disaster would begin in the quarters of the 
Steamboat Inspection Department, on the seventeenth floor 
of the Whitehall Building, in Battery place. Secretary Cor- 
telyou did not return to the city. When he was here he 
said he would take personal charge of the investigation.. 
Dispatches from Washington afterward said that General 
James A. Dumont, chief inspector of the New York of- 
fice, would conduct the proceedings. General Diunont is a 
pretty old man. He has been head of the bureau here for 
twenty-seven years. He refused to say whether he woukl 
have charge of the investigation. 



222 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

By request of District Attorney Garvan the Fire Mar- 
shal's investigation was postponed to give the coroner's in- 
quest the right of way. After the adjournment Chief En- 
gineer Conklin, who had with him as counsel Theodore B. 
t €hancellor, went to police headquarters to have a talk with 
. Commissioner McAdoo. 

Frank A. Barnaby, president of the Knickerbocker 
Steamboat Company, and ex-Judge Dittenhoefer, called 
on Assistant District Attorney Garvan and talked for an 
hour. When the conference was over Judge Dittenhoefer 
said that he represented Mr. Barnaby personally, and that 
ex-Judge Olcott would represent the company. 

Judge Dittenhoefer said that Mr. Garvan asked Mr. Bar- 
naby if the steamboat company would consent to the city 
blowing up the wreck. Judge Dittenhoefer replied that the 
company had nothing to do with the wreck. It was in the 
possession of the insurance companies, and if the steamboat 
company gave any directions as to its disposal, they might 
release the right to the insurance. This might indirectly 
hurt the sufferers in the disaster. Judge Dittenhoefer said, 
as the insurance money might be used as a fund for them. 

Judge Dittenhoefer said that Mr. Barnaby promised to 
give Mr. Garvan the name of the builder of the General 
Slocum, the architect, the parties from whom ever}i;hing 
on the boat was bought, and the brokers who arranged for 
ihe insurance. 

NEW VERSION OF CAPTAIN'S STORY. 

Captain Van Schaick, of the General Slocum, who is a 
prisoner in Lebanon Hospital, talked to a friend of the 
burning of his ship. 

The captain's story is radically different from the tale 
lie told in the Alexander Avenue Police Station immedi- 
ately after the disaster. Here is the statement: 



THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 223 

"I was in the pilot-house opposite Sixty-fourth street 
-and saluted the Grand Eepublic, which passed me at that 
point. I then walked aft to my cabin and stood at the 
door for a few moments, then went in and sat down. While 
I was sitting down the mate sent up an alarm of fire. 

"We were then midway between the Sunken Meadows 
and North Brother Island. 

"I gave orders to go ahead, and in three minutes the boat 
was beached on the shore of North Brother Island. If I 
had turned back to the Sunken Meadows the time I would 
have lost would have cost the lives of all on board. 

^^If I had turned and run to the Bronx shore or any other 
shore the boat would have struck head on and would have 
bumped oS again into deep water." 

He said he judged the fire had been burning two min- 
utes before he heard of it. 



224' THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 



COMMENTS OF THE PRESS ON THE DISASTER. 

THE BURNING OF THE SLOCUM. 

The worst marine disaster of its kind which has ever 
occurred in the vicinity of the metropolis was recorded 
yesterday. The steamer General Slocum, carrying at least 
a thousand Sunday School excursionists, was burned soon 
after passing through Hell Gate for a resort on the Sound. 
Scarcely more than an hour had elapsed since the pleasure- 
seekers embarked, and probably less than ten minutes in- 
tervened between the first alarm and the full consummation 
of the horror. It is not unlikely that the number of women 
and children who were drowned, in consequence of jmnp- 
ing or falling overboard, will reach or exceed 400. How 
many others were entrapped in the hull by the collapse of 
the hurricane deck and were burned to death can at present 
be only conjectured. The exact truth may never be 
known, but these victims may swell the total loss to fully 
six or seven hundred. 

The greatest mortality from a similar cause in local 
waters was that which resulted from the explosion of a 
boiler on the Staten Island ferryboat Westfield in 1871. 
Eully 100 persons were. killed at that time, and 200 more- 
were injured. Between 100 and 200 deaths have resulted 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 225 

from the burning of steamers on the Mississippi River and 
Long Island Sound, and even worse records have been made 
on the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes, though not re- 
cently. The loss of life from a fire on the Montreal in 
1857 was about 250, and that from one in 1850 on the 
Griffith, running between Erie and Cleveland, was esti- 
mated at nearly 300. It is with these last two disasters that 
comparison will now naturally be made. Obviously, an en- 
tirely new precedent has been established. Perhaps even 
the effects of the destruction of the Iroquois Theatre in Chi- 
cago last December have been surpassed. 

Widespread as will be the sorrow created by yesterday's 
tragic event, and universal as will be the sympathy excited, 
it is now too soon to censure anybody. The boat had been 
inspected by Federal officials within a few weeks and pro- 
nounced to be in first-class condition. On this occasion 
she carried a much smaller number of passengers than her 
permit specifies. The captain, the two pilots and the en- 
gineer showed the utmost heroism, the last-mentioned offi- 
cer dying at his post. Moreover, Captain Van Schaick's 
discretion seems to have equaled his courage. Some of the 
excursionists believe that he should have beached the 
steamer sooner. It is safe to say, however, that he under- 
stood his business better than any of his critics. No one 
else on board could have been so well acquainted with the 
difficulties and dangers of pursuing any other policy than 
the one which he chose. 

A number of lessons will be found by wide-awake steam- 
boatmen in this disaster when the facts are better known 
^han they are to-day. The chief one will relate to the pre- 
vention of any such outbreak of fire as that which occurred 
on the General Slocum. Another will deal with improve- 
ments in construction. In the meantime the public will 
do well to recognize the probability that travel on excur- 



226 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

sion boats during the remainder of the season will be safer 
than it was before. If no new precautions are adopted, at 
least a greater vigilance will be exercised. Again, the 
majority of the patrons of these boats also have something 
to learn about the safeguards provided for them by law. 
One person in ten, perhaps, can swim, but it is doubtful 
if one in a hundred can put on a life preserver. To make 
use of the latter in a crowd, and when a panic develops, may 
not be possible, but these hindrances do not always exist 
when the need arises. Many lives might have been saved 
yesterday if, before going on board the General Slocum, all 
of her passengers had familiarized themselves with the 
arrangement of a life preserver and the art of donning one 
in the right manner. — Tribune. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

^OT in many years has the country been called upon to 
mourn a disaster that so profoundly moves the general 
sympathy as does the burning in the East Eiver yesterday 
of the excursion steamer General Slocum. 

Even in the numbers done to death the catastrophe 
threatens to surpass the Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago, 
which seemed at the time to reach the limit of the mischief 
that man^s careless cupidity can do. And again, as in that 
memorable instance, the chief sufferers are those of the 
weaker sex and of tender age. To think of all those helpless 
women, of the little children in their gay holiday garb 
donned for a day of pleasure, now lying dead, needlessly 
sacrificed, compels even pity not more than honest indigna- 
tion. 

For needlessly sacrificed they were. Tliat so many per- 



THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 227 

sons should die in broad daylight upon a crowded harbor 
arm without fault of unpreparedness for such emergencies 
is inconceivable. 

There was heroism enough: the engineer died at his 
( post, like another Bludso. Tugs, rowboats, barges 
' promptly gathered for the work of rescue. The crew did 
as much as its numbers and its obvious lack of drill would , 
permit. The usual stories of vessels that passed by, know- 
ingly refusing aid, may be dismissed as improbable. The 
captain may be criticised for driving his boat a mile into 
the teeth of a strong wind ; but his was at least a trained . 
judgment, liable to error but doing its best at a critical 
moment. For the chief burden of fault we must go further. 
It was in the boat herself ; in her rotten and useless *^if e 
preservers ;" in her scanty equipment for fighting fire ; but • 
above and beyond all else in her construction, which fitted 
her and others like her for a fire-trap and for nothing 
else. 

This is no new discovery. The World has already, has 
emphatically, has repeatedly shown the criminal absurdity 
of "inspection" laws that permit the officials to examine 
boilers and count passengers' noses, but do not permit them - 
to question the safety of the hull except as to seaworthi- 
ness. Perhaps, with the lesson of this frightful disaster be- 
fore it. Congress may now frame the legislation that has 
been so long urged upon it. For it is not one excursion • 
boat alone that is a mere tinder-heap of painted wood. It 
is not in New York Harbor alone but in every waterway 
in the country that passengers daily trust their lives to craft 
that are known to be grossly unfit for their purpose, yet 
which no present law will touch. 

It is a disgrace to our civilization that these things should 
be. No excursion boat should be permitted to take aboard 
a single passenger that is not equipped, manned, pre- 



328 THE GENEEAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

pared by constant drill and rigid discipline, and first and 
most important of all, built to carry that passenger Ib 
safety. — World. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM. 

No tale could more fully combine the elements of pity 
and horror than that we have to tell to-day. The ghastly 
contradiction involved in the fact that those who found a 
fiery fate in the destruction of the Iroquois Theater in 
Chicago had betaken themselves there not on business but 
for pleasure is carried a step further in the later tragedy. 
For most of the victims of this were children, for whom 
amusement is allowed to be properly the chief interest and 
aim in life by adults who would reject as frivolous and un- 
worthy the designation of pleasure seekers for themselves. 
That a Sunday School picnic should all at once become a 
hideous massacre is revolting to the imagination which is 
not deeply stirred by the announcement that an equal num- 
ber of grown men have been done to an equally horrible 
death at the other end of the world. For those are sol-^ 
diers, "whose business ^tis to die," but these were helpless 
and harmless children, whose business is to be happy. 

And yet the fatalities of this disaster would make an 
impression by their number, even in dispatches from the 
seat of war in the Far East. A conflict involving an equal 
loss of life would be more than an "affair." Although the 
exact number of victims in this case cannot yet be known, 
and may not be known for days, it is already certain that 
the burning of the General Slocum holds the melancholy 
"record" of like disasters in these waters. We must go 
back to the wreck of the Seawanhaka, more than twenty 
years ago ; to the wreck of the Westfield, more than thirty;, 



THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 229' 

to find matter for comparison. And neither of those mem- 
orable wrecks was comparable to this in the number of the 
fatalities. One is entitled to use of such a disaster in sad 
literalness the term so often loosely abused, and to describe 
it as a "holocaust." 

It is a holocaust, a "burnt offering" to the spirit of 
cupidity which keeps a floating fire-trap in service as an 
excursion boat, to be crammed with all the people that can 
be inveigled on board of her, in spite of the fact that by her 
construction she is a mere tinder-box, and that, if the fire 
which she invites once breaks out on board of her, the great 
majority of her passengers have no chance for their lives. 
Doubtless there will be a rigid investigation into the speci- 
fic responsibility of her owners and managers for this dis- 
aster, and if they are found to have offended against the 
law we may expect their punishment. But it is not the 
fault of her owners and managers that they have been al- 
lowed to offer a floating fire-trap for "pleasure excursions" 
for as many persons as she would hold. There are others 
left which constitute quite as much a menace to life as she. 
Whenever there is a pageant upon the water, in the form of 
a civic celebration or of an international yacht race, there 
are to be seen in it half a dozen of these antiquated craft, 
loaded to the guards with humanity, of which every one 
excites, in the passengers of safer steamers and even in 
her own, the reflection how helpless she would be and how 
hopeless those on board, if the long-expected should hap- 
pen. This awful disaster should not be suffered to pass 
without providing matter for edification as well as for re- 
proof. Why should not the excursionists on a steamboat 
in New York Harbor be as safe from the risk of being 
burned to death as the passengers of an ocean liner, in 
which, by her construction and by the precautions forced 
upon her managers either by law or by an enlightened self- 



230 THE GENERAL SL0CU.M DISASTER. 

interest, that risk is so reduced as to be practically negligi- 
ble ? Why should not the harbor boat be as incombustible 
as to her structural parts as the liner, and why should not 
all the precautions known against fire be equally enforced 
for the protection of her passengers? The chief lesson of 
this disaster is that the standard of construction upon ex- 
cursion steamers must by law be raised to that of the best 
modern practice and that the antiquated assemblages of 
floating junk which now threaten their passengers with a 
horrible death must no longer be allowed to take passen- 
gers at all. — N. Y. Times. 



THE STEAMBOAT CALAMITY — HORRORS AND HEROIC DEEDS. 

'Til hold her nozzle ag'in the bank 
Till the last galoot's ashore." 

In the immediate shadow of the calamity that throws 
a pall over the community this morning, attempts to place 
responsibility for the horror would be premature. 

The actual author of the fire may never be discovered, 
but the official investigations may elicit and collate fact^ 
now misunderstood or unknown and which would subvert 
any judgment reached amid the present excitement and 
confusion. 

On such occasions the popular first impulse is to con- 
demn the owners of the vessel and those in command. In 
this instance, however, it is apparent that all requirements 
of the government inspectors who examined the General 
Slocum only a few weeks ago were fully complied with,, 
while the captain emulated "Jim Bludso" and with the en- 
gineer bravely clung to his post on the burning boat until 
she was fast ashore. 

One ray of light amid the awful gloom of the story told 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 231 

this morning is found in the numberless heroic actions 
performed by women and men amid the sickening scenes of 
the disaster. Whether the captain erred in judgment in 
not making an earlier landing, or whether many of the 
life preservers on board were defective, as charged, are 
matters to be determined later. The startling fact which 
overshadows all others is that a boat said to be one of the 
best of her class and only recently approved by the inspec- 
tors as in perfect condition should in the waters of the city 
and in plain sight of its wharves burn up so fast tliat the 
lives of about one-half of her passengers were lost. 

The chief blame seems to be not with individuals, but 
with the system under which such a catastrophe is possible. 
As is well known, the Federal Government has charge of 
all steam vessels plying our navigable waters. Inspections 
of the hull, machinery, life-saving appliances and other de~ 
vices are made at least once a year by government officials 
and licenses are granted. Knowledge that there is such 
official supervision inspires the public with confidence. But 
it is mournfully evident that this system looks only to the 
soundness of the vessel and her appliances, whatever these 
may be, and does not make such radical requirements touch- 
ing the material of the hull or superstructure as would 
guard against such a calamity as that of yesterday. 

Craft with frail and highly inflammable superstructure& 
should not be licensed to carry thousands of helpless women 
and children. When the slight wooden stanchions — pre- 
sumably covered with oil paint — that supported the upper 
deck of the General Slocum burned the deck collapsed. 
Iron stanchions and iron deck beams and generally non- 
combustible upper works should be demanded in every 
excursion craft. The Federal authorities should either 
abandon their system of supervision of such vessels or make 
it effectual. — New Yorh Herald. 



232 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

TIIE STEAMBOAT CALAMITY AND ITS LESSON. 

Sitting in the midst of our dead, as we are to-day, it is 
fxtting as thinking beings we should put aside the horror 
of it all and calmly and dispassionately see what lessons 
the burning of the steamboat General Slocum conveys. 

With about seven hundred lives wiped out, nearly all the 
victims being women and children, the investigation of the 
disaster must be thorough. 

In the first place it may be stated that no blame is ap- 
parently attachable to the officers and crew of the boat, all 
of whom behaved with heroism, the engineer dying at his 
post. 

So far it is not clear just how or where the fire started. 
There was an explosion, eye witnesses say, and the lamp 
room is mentioned as a possible source. The life preserv- 
ers, it is said, were rotten. There has rarely been a disas- 
ter afloat when the same charge has not been made, oft- 
times substantiated, but if punishment has ever been in- 
flicted it is not of record and certainly has not been de- 
terrent. 

The main trouble seems to rest with the Federal inspec- 
tion. The boat, which was passed on a few weeks ago and 
pronounced perfect, is now described as a fire-trap, unfit to 
carry passengers. And yet she was one of the largest and 
best of the excursion boats plying here. 

Everybody to-day agTees that the investigation must be 
thorough. It will, perhaps, be well in sixty or ninety days 
from now to look back to the fateful day, Wednesday, June 
15, and see whether the 700 souls, and the brave engineer 
who died like Jim Bludso, were sacrificed in vain. 

We might also recall the Windsor Hotel fire of six years 
ago and the Chicago theater horror of last December, and 
see what lessons we learned from them. — Evening Telegram. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 233 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM HORROR. 

Who is responsible for the awful loss of life by the? 
burning of the excursion steamboat General Slocum ? What 
measures must be taken to prevent the recurrence of such a 
disaster? These are questions that press for an answer. 
All that can possibly be done for the injured and af- 
flicted v/ill be done by a community that is never want- 
ing in sympathy and generosity. 

The investigation should begin at once and be con- 
ducted with deliberation and fairness. But let it not be 
swerved from the true course of justice by heroics and cheap 
sentiment. The fire that destroyed the General Slocum and 
caused a loss of many hundreds of lives was not^ to use the 
legal term, an act of God. Some one was responsible for 
the first burst of flame, although that may never be deter- 
2nined ; some one was responsible, it may be presumed, for 
a failure to extinguish the fire before most of the passen- 
gers w^ere doomed to a horrible death and it should be 
possible to fix the responsibility. Furthermore, it should be 
determined whether the captain and his officers sacrificed 
lives by incompetence and failure of judgment. That they 
behrived with physical courage is not in dispute. Thank 
God for that ! Captain William Van Schaick and his pilots 
Van Wart and Weaver remained at their posts until the 
General Slocum struck bottom on Xorth Brother Island, 
and it required undaunted courage to do this, for the peril 
of death in the flames encompassed them. They are now 
in prison cells in Bellevue Hospital, suffering from their 
burns. 

These are some of the things that must be inquired into, 
and there must be no qualifying and no flinching. Did 



^34 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

Captain Van Schaick laiow that there was a fire on his 
boat when she was off 110th street? If he did;, was the 
danger realized and promptly dealt with by the crew under 
the direction of the officers? This^ of course, involves 
questions whether the General Slocum was thoroughly 
equipped with appliances for fighting fire, and whether the 
crew was regularly drilled in the use of them. If the captain 
was fully alive to the peril of his passengers, most of 
whom were women and children, did- he at once blow his 
whistles for assistance and set a distress signal ? It is said 
that even when the General Slocum was past 138th street 
-and nearing North Brother Island the Franklin Edson and 
other boats coming alongside rescued a considerable num- 
ber of passengers. Did Captain Van Schaick exercise good 
judgment in not putting in to shore, though there might 
be the risk of setting fire to some inanimate lumber yard; 
or in not running his boat on the Sunken Meadows? Ex- 
pert testimony must decide these questions. The stage and 
force of the tide and the difficulty of navigating in the 
rocky bed and swirling waters of the channel must be con- 
sidered. Judgment should be suspended until all the facts 
are brought out. 

It is charged that many of the life preservers were old 
or worthless. It is laiown that the rail of the hurricane 
deck gave way, precipitating about 200 people into the 
water and to almost certain death. A defect in construc- 
tion is indicated, and this concerns, we believe, the Board of 
Steamboat Inspectors, as the condition of the life preserv- 
ers does. The disaster should compel an official overhaul- 
ing of all the pleasure boats in the harbor, to ascertain 
whether they are made as fireproof as possible, and whether 
they are supplied with life preservers that will sustain a 
body in the water and with up-to-date apparatus for fight- 
ing fire. — Evening Sun. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 235 



THE EXCURSION BOAT SLAUGHTER. 

There is something unspeakably horrible about the 
slaughter of women and little children, yet as it was the 
sacrifice of the young, the tender and the helpless in the 
Chicago theater fire last autumn which aroused official au- 
thority everywhere in this country to a danger long disre- 
garded, so again in the sickening waste of life among women 
and children in the frightful disaster to an excursion boat 
have we another revolting warning of a peril of which all 
men have been long aware, few heedful. 

It must seem incomprehensible that in the East River, 
almost within a stone's throw of shore, a vessel could be 
burned, with a sudden rush to death of hundreds, before she 
had time to reach land. But the fact looming large, grim 
and ghastly, what are we to say of those who lure the public 
into floating pyres of tinder that may blot out the lives of 
the human cargo in a flash? What are we to say of the 
official authority which encourages or permits such inven- 
tion and practice of slaughter? 

As Chicago officials were indicted for their participa- 
tion in the hideous crime of the Iroquois Theater fire, shall 
not indictments lie against officials here who have shared 
in the fatal work of yesterday? In this way only, it seems, 
i may others be spared — for there are other pyres of floating 
'tinder waiting for other victims, women and little children 
— from the fiery fate of those who in the General Slocum 
voyaged to their awful end. — N. Y. Press. 



THE rLOATING TINDER BOX. 



A RIGID governmental inspection keeps the boilers of the 
liarbor excursion boats safe and reduces to a minimum the 



236 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

risk of accident from weakness of hull or other defect of 
sea-going qualities. The law provides for life boats and 
fire appliances. 

But such an inspection takes no account of the tinder- 
box nature of the superstructure of such craft. It fixes no 
penalties for insecure upper decks or the layer upon layer 
of paint on old woodwork. It ignores the presence of in- 
flammable material which a coal from the fire-boxes or a 
spark from a pipe may ignite. 

Nor does it secure under penalty the presence on the 
spot of trained men ready to put to instant use the fire 
bucket and hose provided. The law cannot satisfactorily 
prescribe that human vigilance which is the best preventive 
of disaster. 

But at least it should be able to abolish the conditions 
of inflammability which invite it. It should be able to 
order a more efficient patrol on excursion CTaft and to that 
extent reduce the gravity of flre peril. 

There have been two instances within a year of ferry- 
boats afire in midstream, on one of which it was impossible 
to subdue the flames except by proceeding full speed ashore. 
Attention was called at the time to the grave risk run 
through the absence of adequate fire-fighting apparatus. 

The General Slocum horror, which realizes what the 
ferry-boats escaped by sheer good fortune, will have served 
on§ good end if it prompts an investigation to devise a 
greater measure of security to the innumerable thousands 
whose lives may be in peril of a similar fate on tinder-box 
craft. 

What the Iroquois disaster accomplished in diminishing 
the risks undergone by theater-goers the burning of the 
General Slocum should do for all who go on harbor or 
river excursions hereafter. — Evening World. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. !837 



INFLAMMABLE BOATS. 

After such a horror as that of yesterday, there is a 
search for reasons. They are not always to be found, yet 
they exist, or the accident would not have happened. We 
do not believe that such a disaster could have occurred on 
a ship of the American Navy, nor on one of the Atlantic 
liners. There the discipline would have been better, the 
safeguards more numerous, the construction of the sliips 
themselves more sound. Larger ships are exposed to dan- 
gers of their own, it is true. In the navy there is the pos- 
sibility of an explosion of the magazine, or such an outbreak 
of flame from the breech of the rifled cannon as caused 
death on one of our warships recently. In the trans-At- 
lantic service there is also the possibility of collision with 
an iceberg, and more than one ship which has never reached 
her port w^as hurried to her end in that fashion. The dan- 
ger of fire on vessels of every class is constant, but less 
than the danger among fixed constructions that accommo- 
date equal numbers of people on shore, for the laws re- 
garding the care of cooking ranges, lighting matches and 
so on are carefully observed, as a rule, so long as the ves- 
sel is at her dock, whereas in the crowded tenement there 
are no such laws, and if there were, it would be impossible 
io enforce them. 

It was confidence that sent hundreds to their death yes- 
terday — confidence that the General Slocum was in trim, 
Tfell manned, equipped with all the fitments for safety of 
life and rescue. The merest suspicion of such an awful 
tragedy as occurred a few j^ards from our shore would have 
led to a complete overhauling of the boat, to a test of her 
steering gear, which is alleged by some to have been at 
fault ; of her fire hose and grenades ; to an inspection of her 



238 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

galleys, or lamp room, where the fire is supposed to have 
started, and certainly to a substitution of real life preserv- 
ers for the flimsy shams that were removed from the bodies. 
These life preservers are made of rotten canvas, that can be 
broken by the finger nail, and filled with powdered cork 
instead of lumps and sheets of the bark that would have 
Iiad some floating value. The cords by which they are ad- 
justed are as rotten as the canvas, and came apart in the 
effort to tie them. Then there were the boats. Little 
seems to have been accomplished by them. The crowds 
pressed about them so that only two could be put off, it ia 
said. Yet every craft is supposed to be provided with 
enough of life rafts and life boats to carry off the comple- 
ment of passengers and crew in an emergency. 

The most damaging fact concerning the Slocum is that 
she was made of wood. She was of an obsolete type, al- 
though she was only a dozen or fifteen years old. At the 
time of her launching she was called the best excursion 
steamer in American waters, and from that day till the end 
of her she was in constant use in summer. She was made 
for the carrying of 2,500 people, but it is alleged that in 
service between Manhattan and Rockaway she sometimes 
carried 4,000. What a mercy that this accident did not 
happen at such a time, and when she was in deep water! 
She was in collision or aground on several occasions, but 
was never before seriously on fire. In one of her mishaps, 
v/hen she ran aground in Rockaway Inlet, there was a panic, 
but no lives were lost. It was then learned that she had 
only six boats and four rafts, capable in all of carrying" 
250 persons, or one-tenth of the number she was licensed 
to carry. An amazing circumstance ! 

Iron ships are vulnerable, and by reason of their weight 
they may sink more quickly than a wooden one; but as: 
they contain less that is inflammable the chances of life in 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 23^ 

disaster or panic are miich greater. This wholesale drown- 
ing and this holocaust, for death caine in flood and flame, 
will probably have the effect of retiring the wooden boats 
about our waters, or at least consigning them to freight 
service. It will certainly have the effect of inducing a more 
honest and competent inspection of all steamers, so that no 
more shall be permitted to go out with tanks of gasolene 
in the rooms, leaky and disjointed hose on the decks, in- 
sufficient life boats on davits that will not turn, and life 
preservers that are fastened to inaccessible places and are 
useless after being unfastened. The officers and crew of 
the Slocum played their part like men. They did all they 
could to save their boat and keep the crowd in order. But 
they could do little on a wooden vessel, with paint, oil and 
old camp chairs on her decks, and boats for only a few. 

In buildings on shore we require frequent inspection — 
whether it is given or not — and conformity to certain rules, 
such as moderate use of wood and a sufficient number of 
stairways and fire escapes. The schools, hospitals, factor- 
ies, halls, theaters into which great numbers are gathered 
are made more enduringly and soundly to-day than ever 
before. Fireproof materials such as stone, brick, steel and 
cement are increasingly in use, and within a few days we 
have seen how adequate drill and consciousness of safe 
provisions have prevented disorder in our schools when fires 
have broken out. "\¥hy not the same sincerity of workman- 
ship in buildings made to float, and destined to be twice as 
densely peopled? 

The ocean liner, made to carry a thousand, is supplied 
with abundance of boats and rafts, fire hose and grenades^ 
her crew is well drilled, her hull is divided into water-tight 
compartments, so that unless she strikes a rock with a tre- 
mendous shock it is possible to close these compartments 
and preserve a large measure of her buoyancy. The iron par-^ 



24:0 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

iitions that will keep out water will also keep out flame and 
smoke, and the passengers can readily be gathered into the 
uninjured divisions of the ship. Yet we permit companies 
of people twice and three times as large as these liners 
would carry to put to sea in wooden cockle shells that a 
careless smoker may set on fire. It must be a salutary 
revolution in marine architecture that will be induced by 
this burning of the Slocum. We must have boats that, if 
they will burn at all, will burn so slowly that the passengers 
can be removed in safety. The tragedy of yesterday must 
never be repeated. — Broohlyn Eagle. 



THE AWFUL TRAGEDY OF THE SLOCUM. 

If it were legal to indict a man for lack of judgment 
when it resulted in many deaths and much indescribable 
mental and bodily suffering, the captain of the excursion 
boat Gen. Slocum might be held responsible in the criminal 
courts for a great part of the terrible loss of life which 
marked the awful tragedy of yesterday. The fire was first 
discovered when the excursion boat was opposite the Sunken 
Meadows, in the East Eiver, about 135th street. There was 
no appreciab'le interval between the discovery of the flames 
and the knowledge that the fire would spread all over the 
boat and cause a frightful loss of life unless help in some 
efficient shape should be offered at once. Instead of turn- 
ing the boat and beaching her without delay on the Sunken 
Meadows the captain and pilot decided to run to North 
Brother Island, nearly a mile away, and beach the boat 
on a shelving shore without rocks. That decision caused 
the loss of many precious lives. With the Slocum, one of 
the fast^ist boats in the harbor, dashing ahead at more thay. 



THE GENERAL SLOCU.M DISASTER. 24:1 

twenty miles an hour through a strong June breeze, the 
iiames and smoke that would have made the pilot-house un- 
inhabitable were carried back to shrivel and blind the 
frightened hundreds in the after parts of the boat. It was 
the surest way possible to increase the loss of life. The 
increased velocity of the boat fanned the flames until soon 
the space between decks was a fiery furnace which claimed 
many a victim there and then, but drove many more over 
the sides of the vessel to a less terrible if not less certain 
death. The speed of the big excursion steamer prevented 
all of the smaller craft which would have saved many lives 
from keeping up with her. And, as far as known, the only 
official persons aboard w^ho sought to prevent a panic and 
save the poor, terrified people from trampling one another 
to death, even before the hungry flames reached them or 
they jumped blindly into the river, were the two policemen 
detailed to look after the excursionists on their trip. The 
deckhands, probably in great part the usual summer crew 
picked up here and there, were nowhere in evidence as try- 
ing to put out the fire, which some have said might easily 
liave been done at the start, or in helping to quiet the peo- 
ple so as to increase the chance of rescue. There does not 
seem to be any redeeming feature to the dreadful picture 
from the side of the owners, managers or crew of the Slo- 
<:-um. She was a death trap so far as fire is concerned. When 
the fire, that was almost invited, came, the worst possible 
judgment v^as displayed by the captain and pilots in hand- 
ling the vessel, while there is no record of any member of 
the crew saving, or even attempting to save, a life other 
than his own, although instances of self-sacrificing heroism 
among the excursionists themselves, and the gallant men 
and women, aye, and children (for some of the rescuers were 
lads under 15 years of age) who saved the lives of those who 
were saved, were many and splendid. Of the families af- 



242 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

fected by the dreadful disaster those are best off which were 
wiped out altogether. The survivors, many maimed and 
tortured in their bodies, and none of them free from a sort 
of desolation men can think about but scarcely realize 
while themselves untouched in a personal way, by the awful 
tragedy, are the objects of sympathy for a city, indeed for 
a nation. They are in all our hearts to-day, surrounded 
by a people who would do anything in their power to alle- 
viate the deep-set misery of these stricken ones, and for 
that reason perhaps we may hope for some assuagement 
of the terrible pain of irrevocable loss which has befallen 
our countrymen and countryw^omen, our brothers and sis- 
ters surviving, of St. Mark's Lutheran Church. — Brooklyn- 
Standard Union. 



THE SLOCUM DISASTER. 

Words are too feeble to express the pity and horror of 
this disaster. The character of the victims — women,, 
mostly, and children of tender years — the swiftness of the- 
destruction that has overtaken half a modest parish, the 
terror of sweeping flames, and of loaded decks collapsing 
into the furnace below — all of these heart-rending features 
of yesterday's tragedy strain the compassion of the mere 
reader to the point of numbness. But out of the great pity 
of it an indignant voice must find strength to cry: Was 
this sickening calamity preventable, or must we expect to 
see it repeated from time to time? 

Preventable, in the fullest sense, it probably was not. 
Nobody can wholly provide against the momentary careless- 
ness of a cook or deckhand; probably nobody can stay the 
first mad movement of panic that comes when the cry of 
fire is raised on a crowded excursion boat. ISTor can one 
guard against errors of judgment in a captain; it appears. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 245 

that the brave captain of the General Slociim made a fright- 
ful bhmder that fateful day in not beaching his boat at the 
nearest point. But he judged by his best lights under con- 
ditions calculated to shake the soundest judgment. The 
deckhands, also, who never lowered a boat, perhaps repre- 
sent the inevitably inferior labor employed. In a large 
degree, however, the accident was preventable. The death 
list should not have run beyond those crushed or pushed 
overboard in the first panic. The responsibility for hun- 
dreds of the lives sacrificed lies at the door of the Govern- 
ment steamboat inspectors, who declared that the General 
Slocum was properly provided with fire and life-saving 
apparatus. 

In the face of this false declaration, look at the facts: 
Pumps and fire hose failed to work, not a boat was low- 
ered, not a life-raft floated, the life preservers dragged 
down those who wore them. What help came to the fated 
vessel was from outside, and accidental. The General Slo- 
cum, bearing the inspectors' certificate of full equipment, 
had no effective means of saving her own hull from fire or 
the life of a single passenger from drowning. We are not 
writing at random in this matter; we have talked with 
those who drew ashore bodies actually weighted down by 
the life preservers that Inspector Lundberg declares in an 
interview were "in good condition.'^ We know that these 
life belts, when thrown into the water, sank like stones; 
when ripped open displayed a mixture of soggy cork and 
glue, no more buoyant than so much dirt. Now, recall 
that the fire hose which did not work, the life-rafts which 
could not be released from their wire lashings, the life pre- 
servers which came to pieces when they could be reached, 
and dragged dovrn the unfortunate swimmers who wore 
them, had all been inspected and declared not only service- 
able, but of the first quality. These life-belts, which pos- 



344 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

-sibly had never been buoyant, bore an inspector's mark of 
buoyancy from the factory, and the certificate of successive 
inspectors that no deterioration had taken place. Inspector 
Lundberg, on May 5 last, certified under oath that the life 
preservers were 500 in excess of the legal requirement, and 
all in good condition. He said yesterday that he tested all 
"that appeared in any way old," and did not reject one. 

So the farce of Government steamboat inspection in this 
port has ended in tragedy! There is too much reason to 
fear that scores of boats in this harbor are in no better 
condition than the General Slocum. A year ago last Feb- 
ruary this paper pointed out the fact that the local steam- 
boat inspection was intentionally perfunctory. It has needed 
the holocaust of June 17 to make that warning of any avail. 
Making inquiry of the owner of certain harbor boats as to 
the condition of his flotilla we receive the answer: "My 
boats ought to be well equipped, for I do not bribe the in- 
spectors." It is only too clear that we have to do not 
only with laxness in the inspection, but with corruption as 
well. Possibly the laws are inadequate. Evidently fire- 
proofing should be applied to the flimsy wooden superstruc- 
ture of boats of the harbor type. But surely it is futile to 
pass new laws when those we have are winked at or sold for 
a price. The dreadful lesson of yesterday will have been 
incompletely learned unless compassion for the poor women 
and children who perished so miserably be converted into 
effective indignation against those whose indifference or 
venality has multiplied this horror sevenfold. 

In contrast with this sickening record of cowardice and 
incompetency shines the brighter the heroism of many on 
board the Slocum and of a whole army of volunteer res- 
cuers. Such of the story as we can gather we tell else- 
where. Much of it can never be told, for many of those who 
between two deaths played the hero are gone beyond recog- 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 245- 

nition. All the more reason, then, to do honor to those 
devoted men and women whose individual valor saved many 
lives that otherwise must have been sacrificed to the negli- 
gence of the State and the parsimony of a corporation — 
Evening Post, 



THE EAST RIVER TRAGEDY. 

To parallel the horror of the burning of the General 
'Slocum in the East River, we must look abroad. Nothing 
like it is recorded in our history. Only twice, in foreign 
vv^aters, it has been duplicated— not by fire, indeed, but by 
collision and simple fate. In September, 1878, the steam- 
er Princess Alice, with over 900 souls on board, was sunk 
in the Eiver Thames, within the bounds of London, and 
640 persons were lost. On May 24, 1881, the steamer 
Victoria, loaded with a holiday crowd, capsized in the 
Thames near London, Ontario, and nearly 600 persons 
were drowned. These, like the Slocum, were excursion 
boats, crowded by amusement seekers, and women and chil- 
dren made up the greater part of those who perished. 

Nearly five hundred persons are known to have been lost 
in the burning of the Slocum, and estimates enlarge the 
number to l,000,~and even to 1,200. The latter number is 
sufficiently ghastly, and there is little hope that it will not 
be reached, It is seldom that a disaster involving the death 
of so many persons is so localized in its effects as is this. 
Alm.ost all of the victims came from a German Protestant 
colony in the midst of a huge population of Roman Catho- 
lics and Jews, and it is not unlikely that in many cases, 
the families of the lost will bear their grief silently, and 
not permit the public to know of it. St. Mark's Churchy 
apparently, is wiped out. 



246 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

It is too early yet to place the responsibility for the fire, 
or to say whether all was done at first that should have been, 
done. Conflicting stories are told of the actions of the 
boat's crew, and the captain of the Slocnm is criticised for 
'■ not having run his vessel inshore before he did. Captain 
Van Schaick is an old harbor captain, and must be assumed 
to have done his best to protect his passengers and himself. 
The conditions confronting him — the fire, the strong tide, 
the possibility that his steering gear or machinery might 
give way — cannot be passed upon by a landsman. But 
when the fire had got beyond control, and the vessel was 
seen to be doomed, almost no criticism can be made of the 
efforts put forth to save life. Excepting, as alleged, the 
captains of a ferryboat and a yacht, everyone who could 
aid did so. Volunteers of all sorts and conditions lent as- 
sistance in saving life and recovering the dead. In the 
rescue work of individuals is found the only lightening of 
the horror of the fire. 

V/hen the first shock of the disaster is over, it will be 
needful to investigate its causes, and to place the blame for 
the great loss of life. It may be asserted now that the ulti- 
mate responsibility cannot rest on the shoulders of the 
captain and crew of the vessel, but must at least be shared 
hy the Slocum's owners, and possibly by others. It is said, 
seemingly with truth, that the life preservers were useless, 
being old and made of bad material, and that the fire-ex- 
tinguishing apparatus was poor, if not actually bad. The 
whole question of steamboat inspection under the Federal 
laws is involved in this disaster, and the further question 
of the safety of the excursion boat business of the city. It 
seems terribly clear that the spirit of the laws is not ob- 
served, however closely the letter may be followed. 

The investigation must be searching, the finding must be 
definite, the action based on it must be decisive. The plea 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 247 

that the fire and the consequent loss of life was the act of 
God cannot be accepted. God helps those who help them- 
selves, and unless all proper precautions were observed, the 
death of 600 persons is a crime legally and morally charge- 
able on those who neglected them and took the risk when 
hundreds of innocent lives were at stake. — Evening Mail. 



SOME OBVIOUS LESSONS. 

It is as useless as it would be futile to search for words 
to express adequately the full horror of the calamity of 
June 17. The awful results, stated in the headlines of the 
newspapers, leave nothing to be said. The first question 
that arises in every horrified mind is: "How was such a 
thing possible?" Following instantly and involuntarily 
upon this comes a second question: "Is a like thing pos- 
sible upon any and every excursion steamer that plies about 
the harbor?" 

General Dumont, of the Steamboat Inspection Depart- 
ment of the Government, who should be an authority upon 
the subject, says that the same conditions which ended in 
the awful disaster on the General Slocum exist upon every 
steamboat of this city engaged in the excursion business. 
Like the General Slocum, all of them have their upper 
works built of wood, all of them have these works painted 
and varnished and made thoroughly inflammable in every 
way, additional food for fire being supplied with hangings 
and furnishings. The flimsy joiner work, upon which 
all the inflammable material is laid, is arranged in 
the way most surely calculated to give fury to the flames, 
being piled up like kindling wood for a fire. Upon it mth 
its coats of paint and varnish the sun beats till it is almost 
ready to ignite of itself. As General Dumont says : 



248 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 

^Teople off for a holiday, men especially, smoke cigars 
and cigarettes. Women and men read papers and throw 
them away. There is a puff of wind while the boat is going 
fast through the water, thus creating a breeze. 

"A newspaper is blown under a seat. A lighted end of 
a cigar or cigarette touches the paper and in a second there 
is a blaze. Unless a fire on any excursion boat in our har- 
bor to-day can be quelled immediately, there is little hope 
for the people aboard.^^ 

The conflagration broke out in as favorable a place for 
safety as could be found in our waters. Land was near 
and could be reached without long delay. It is not known 
yet what the exact period of time was between the discovery 
of the fire and the beaching of the boat, but it was as 
brief as could be expected to occur under any other con- 
ditions. Yet so rapid was the progress of the flames that 
500 lives were destroyed. If the flre had broken out in 
the open Sound or in the lower bay, as it might have done, 
and might do in an excursion boat at any time, what 
chances would there have been for the escape of anybody? 

This is not alarmist talk, but the first duty of the mo- 
ment. General Dumont says the fault is not in the inspec- 
tion methods, but in the laws; that the fault lies in the 
building of the boats and that there is no law to compel 
the building of a different sort ; that even those which have 
steel hulls have the same inflammable and flimsy wood 
superstructure, and would be no safer in case of flre than 
the General Slocum was. He declares that, with a single 
exception, the steamboats of the present day are no safer 
than those built thirty years ago, because the same methods. 
of upper construction are used. What he says on this point 
should be made the basis for immediate action : 

"A good many years ago I pointed out that another dan- 
ger on the excursion boat was about the boiler. A boiler 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 249 

with a fire in it is always a danger spot. The only boat 
absolutely safe under these conditions is the C. W. Morse 
of the new People's Line to Albany. That boat has a steel 
sheeting all about her boiler and extending from hull to 
upper deck. She can't get afire from her boiler. The laws 
ought to be changed so that no flimsy joiner work is used 
in any boat designed for excursion traffic, and all boilers 
should be fully sheathed in steel. Then the public can be 
carried in safety." 

There is no escape from this criticism, if the facts upon 
which it rests cannot be disputed. The laws in regard to 
steamboat construction should be amended by the next Con- 
gress in the direction General Dumont suggests. Steel 
sheathing for the boilers would not have prevented the dis- 
aster if the fire started in some other part of the vessel, 
but steel sheathing is possible for any portion of the boat 
in which there is possibility of a fire originating. But surely 
the time has come to stop building firetraps upon the hulls 
of our steamboats. The same law of safety which requires 
fireproof construction in our theatres should require the 
same construction in the deck work of all steamboats. It 
w411 not answer, after this awful warning, to say that pres- 
ent methods of construction have been safe and can be 
trusted to be so in future. They contain the largest ele- 
ment of peril, instead of the least. All the ingredients for 
a conflagration are supplied, instead of being vigorously 
excluded. We must go to the other extreme, reverse the 
process of construction, strip the hulls of their flimsy wood- 
work, their paint and varnish and oiled canvas coverings, 
their hangings and gaudy ornamentation, and construct 
them of steel and asbestos and other fireproof material, 
sacrificing show to safety, as we have done in our theatres. 
— New York Globe. 



250 THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 



MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY. 



KAISER WILLIAM SENDS MESSAGE OF SYMPATHY. 

The following telegram from the German Ambassador 
at Washington^ Baron Speck von Sternberg, enclosing a 
cablegram from the German Emperor, was received by the 
Eev. Mr. Haas: 

'"Washington, D. C, June 18, 1904. 
*^"Eev. George Haas^ Sixth street, New York: 

""The following cablegram has just been communicated 
to me by His Majesty the Kaiser : 

"" "Being most profoundly affected by the news of the in- 
describably horrible catastrophe which has overtaken the 
Lutheran congregation, I command you to express to it my 
innermost feelings of sorrow.' 

""In carrying out the command of my most gracious sov- 
ereign, allow me at the same time to offer you my own 
personal sympathy. Sternberg.^' 



president ROOSEVELT V^IRES HIS SYMPATHY. 

The Eev. George C. F. Haas, the pastor of the church, 
received the following message of sympathy from President 
Eoosevelt : 

*"To the Rev. George C. F. Haas, St. Mark's German 
Lutheran Church: 
""Accept my profound sympathy for yourself, your church 
and your people. Theodore Eoosevelt."^ 



M 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 251 



BELIEF COMMITTEE IS APPOINTED BY MAYOR. 



To THE Citizens of New York : 

The appalling disaster by which more than five hundred 
men, women and children lost their lives by fire and drown- 
ing, has shocked and horrified our city. Knowing the keen 
sympathy of the people of the City of New York with 
their stricken fellows, I have appointed a committee of 
citizens to receive contributions to a fund to provide for 
the fit and proper burial of the dead and for such other 
relief as may be necessary. 

The following gentlemen have been asked to serve on 
the committee: 

Morris K. Jesup^ Joseph C. Hendrix^ 

Jacob H. Schiff^ Thomas Mulry^ 

Herman Bidder, George Ehret, 

Charles D. Dickey, John Fox, 

R. A. Van Courtlandt, John Weinacht, 

Erskine Hewitt, H. B. Schari^iann. 

Until the committee has had an opportunity to organize 
I shall be glad to receive contributions at the Mayor's of- 
fice. 

As a sign of mourning I have ordered the flags on the 
City Hall to be put at half-mast. 

George B. McClellan, Mayor. 



THE end. 



A STO RY OF FIRE AND D EATH! 

We desire to announce that we have just 
issued the full and complete story of the 




by which nearly 1200 lives were lost in Hell Gate, New York 
Harbor, and which has created an intense interest through- 
out the country and which will have a large sale. We want 
an AGENT in every town to sell this book. 

Everyone has heard of this great disaster, and will want 
this book which gives the complete particulars. 

It contains 250 pages, and is bound in paper cover, 
price, 25 cents ; bound in cloth, 50 cents. It also contains 

12 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS, 

showing scenes and incidents in connection with the calam- 
ity. A bright boy can sell 100 copies in your town, 
and if you cannot act as our Agent please hand this circular to 
some one who might be glad of the chance to make money in 
selling it. The following are our liberal terms to Agents: 

Sample copy, paper cover, sent by mail, postpaid, 20 cents. 
" cloth binding, " " " 40 " 

After you have received your sample copy and have 
taken your orders we will supply the books to you at the 
following prices : 

100 Copies, Paper Cover, c^l^l^fM^^'S'rhs. $13.00 

Less than 100 copies, 15 cents per copy. 

100 Copies, Clotli Bound, c^'I^^.r.^^^\T:s, $25.00 

Less than 100 copies, 30 cents per copy. 

The above terms are given on condition that cash be 
sent with the order, and the books will be sent immediately. 
Address all orders to 

J. S. OQILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

57 Rose Street, New York. 








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